GouGou Sentai Boukenger: The Next Generation
by Dark Goddess1
Summary: 25 years after the adventures of the original Boukengers, a new generation has stepped up. Thanks to a time traveling Precious, the new Boukengers are thrown back into 2006 and must work with the originals to get themselves home. Can they make it?
1. A New Generation of Bouken Dreams

GouGou Sentai Boukenger: The Next Generation

Prologue: A New Generation of Bouken Dreams

_SGS Museum, 2031_

"Good morning, Boukengers." Satoru Akashi announced as he entered the salon, his morning coffee in one hand. For a man now in his 40s, he didn't look much different than he had back when he was in his 20s and BoukenRed. The only difference was a few lines here and some grey hair there. He sighed as he took in this new generation of Boukengers, now celebrating their two-year anniversary since receiving their Accellulars, and smiled when he took in his now 18-year-old son among them.

Seated in front of her tablet laptop, writing down notes, looking ever so much like her mother, Sakura Nishihori-Takaoka, was the 23-year-old Kei Takaoka, the "Chief" of this new crop. He'd selected the young woman for BoukenRed himself, seeing so very much of himself in her. So far, she seemed to be doing a good job of being "Chief"…. even better than he had, since she had everyone liking her right away…and he was still working on getting Masumi to like him. Kei was a formidable, experienced and beautiful young woman, who looked so much like Sakura did when she was young that it was almost scary. The only stark difference was the widow's peak of white hair, courtesy of Kei's father, Eiji Takaoka.

Next to Kei, was the 22-year-old daughter of Masumi and Natsuki (Satoru had never had any doubts about those too, he was just surprised it took Masumi so long to propose), Belle Inou, although she preferred to be called "Rin". In Rin, there was a strong resemblance to her father, with the exception of the teeth. Rin was as experienced as Kei and when it came time to ask her to be Boukenger, she, like Kei, had only one condition: No yellow or pink. So, after making Kei the red and offering her the redesigned AccellSuit, Satoru had the black AccellSuit remade and gave it to Rin, allowing her to take up the mantle her father had left behind. Rin wasted no time in establishing herself as Kei's right hand woman and a Boukenger vastly different from her father.

Also tapping away at a laptop, was the only son of Souta and, of all people, Kaze no Shizuka, Tsubasa Mogami, a 21-year-old communications and information expert, who followed in his father's footsteps in more ways than one. Not only did Tsubasa look like Souta, he also BEHAVED like him, serious at times, but then, a complete flirt. It was amusing most of the time. When Satoru had approached the young man about being a Boukenger, Tsubasa had jumped at the chance and gladly taken Souta's spot as BoukenBlue, leaving Souta free to become the technician of SGS, much like the late Makino-sensei had been.

Sitting next to her older sister, like she'd always been, was Rin's little sister, Aurora Inou, who looked and acted just like Natsuki had. The clear exception was that Aurora, who preferred "Hikari", had her hair in a ponytail and didn't speak in 3rd person. When her big sister received the offer to become a Boukenger, Hikari, who was 20, had wanted to be one, too. So, Satoru offered her the pink spot and let her become BoukenPink. Hikari was less serious than Sakura had been, but was just as dedicated to the cause of protecting the world from the effects of a dangerous Precious.

And finally, Satoru's gaze took in his greatest Precious, his son, Satoshi Akashi. Following his adventures in space with Sakura and return to Earth, which included a promotion that lead to his current position as the Head of SGS Japan, Satoru had gone to the North Pole and began courting "Mini-Skirt Santa", who still insisted that he call her "Eve". Not too long after that, they'd married and Eve gave birth to their son, Satoshi. At Eve's insistence, Satoshi spent most of the year with his father in Japan, but he got to accompany his mother on her yearly trip around the world. Satoshi had been the second to last piece of the puzzle that made up the New Boukengers. Satoshi had been adventuring almost from the day he was born and his dream was to be a Boukenger, after all. He just never imagined that he'd be BoukenYellow. He didn't mind so much, for he understood that Kei was a bit more experienced than he was. He was just happy that he got the spot.

"Morning, Boss." Rin, Hikari and Tsubasa chimed in, smiling as they looked up from their morning routine.

"Morning, Dad." Satoshi said, thumbing through a book.

"Good morning, Satoru-san." Kei said politely. "What brings the great adventurer Satoru Akashi, head of SGS Japan here to see us, the lowly Boukengers?" She smiled as she spoke, her slight adoration of him clear in her dark eyes.

_More like her mother every day…_Satoru thought as he took a sip of his coffee. "Well, there's a Precious that's come into our radar that might have something to do with the disappearance of your father, Kei." Eiji had mysteriously vanished while doing Satoru a favor of investigating a Precious near an old tomb of Ashu and he had been gone for nearly a month. The police weren't holding out much hope, but Sakura was and so were Kei and her absent younger brother, Kando. "It's called the Sands of Memory and Time…apparently its some kind of hourglass."

Kei perked up at Satoru's words. "It may have something to do with Dad?" She sounded more hopeful than she had in a while.

"The last known location of the Precious…" Satoru paused a fished out a remote from his pocket and used it to activate the large plasma in the room, which displayed a map, which showed Eiji's last known location and then the last known location of the Precious. "…was right where we received Eiji's final transmission. We're not quite sure what it does, but the locations do seem awfully suspicious. I would like it very much, if you would go out, retrieve the Precious and bring it back so we can study it. Once we figure out what it does, we can find out if it had anything to do with Eiji's vanishing."

Satoru looked around for a moment and realized that the sixth Boukenger was missing. "Kei…. where's your brother?"

"With my mother." Kei said. "You know Mom. She may look cold sometimes, but she has a whole well of emotions under the surface. Dad's vanishing has really taken a toll on her. He'll be here soon."

Just then, the doors slid open with a ding and in came Kando Takaoka, the 19-year-old Dazzling Adventurer, who so strongly resembled his father that it wasn't funny. Kando had been the last to be recruited, like his father before him. Kando was brash and abrasive, but good at his job, taking cues from his big sister. Right now, however, Kando looked tired and he took a quick look at his sister and then at Satoru. "Fill me in, Chiefu."

"Basically put, Kando, SGS has been informed that there was a Precious signal at the last known place Eiji was seen." Satoru said. "I want you to go and check it out."

Kei sighed and closed her laptop. "Our mission: retrieve the Precious!" She smirked and stole a glance at Satoru. "Boukenger, move out!" She snapped her fingers to signal the start of the mission and the Boukengers left the salon, leaving Satoru there to finish his coffee.


	2. The Sands of Memory & Time

Chapter One:

The Sands of Memory & Time

The last place Takaoka Eiji had been seen alive was a desolate mountainous area. Apparently the tomb that had held the Ashu of the North was there. The place was foreboding and eerie and it sent shivers up both Kei and Kando's spines.

"Nee-san, this place is so creepy." Kando said. "It makes my hair stand on end. And I feel like wherever I go here…there's someone watching."

Kei nodded. "I feel that, too." She murmured, trying not to let her emotions cloud her dedication to her job and duty. Her father's vanishing had been difficult and it was even more so when the police pretty much said that there was little, if any chance that Eiji was still alive. It had almost broken her mother. Her eyes felt wet and she quickly wiped them away. First Kai, now this…how much more loss could her heart take?

"Kei-chan?" Rin said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You and Kando don't need to be here. The rest of us can handle it."

"No, I have to be here…I'm the Chief, remember?" Kei sighed. "I'll be fine. I just can't shake this feeling I have."

"Maybe it's because we know Dad's not dead." Kando said. "Or it could be our Ashu fourths reacting to the presence of the tomb."

"What makes you say that?" Hikari asked.

"Because nee-san's hair is turning white and judging by the way you're looking at me, so is mine.

Kei fingered a strand of her black hair, which was slowly becoming a pure white color and she shivered. Of all the things she and Kando had to inherit from their father….

Tsubasa's voice broke the silence. "The Precious signal is strongest in there." He pointed to a nearby cave. "This is the last place Eiji Takaoka was seen and the precious is there." He looked at Kei.

"Definitely suspicious, nee-san." Kando said.

"Then we're going in." Kei said, snapping her fingers. "Attack."

The cave was dark and damp and required a quick Henshin into their AccellSuits and the use of the headlights on their helmets.

"Nee-san, it's cold." Hikari murmured. "And kind of wet. What sort of Precious could possibly be in here?"

Kei shivered. Hikari wasn't kidding about the cold. She tried to focus on the mission but her thoughts kept wandering. It was hard for her to keep her focus in such a place, a part of the Takaoka legacy.

"Kei-sama, look!" Satoshi pointed to something shiny and silver in the dirt near his feet. He bent down and picked it up. "I think it's a ring."

"Let me see that." Kei said as Satoru handed her the ring. She held it up to examine it in the light. She quietly gasped. "It's Dad's wedding ring…. and there's blood on it."

Kando gasped. "Oh god…"

"Don't panic, you two." Tsubasa said. "I'm sure the blood doesn't mean anything."

Kei didn't say anything, she just clutched the ring and then she pulled out her Accellular. "I sense…Ashu." She murmured.

"You sense it, too?" Kando asked. "Where do you think they are?"

"Isn't this an Ashu tomb?" Satoshi asked. "So wouldn't you be sensing Ashu, anyway?"

"No if their souls were properly sealed up after being destroyed. The presence of Ashu means that one of my ancestors screwed up."

"Nee-san, this presence…. it feels familiar…like when Grandmother comes out of the mirror to visit us..."

Kando's words made Kei stop. "What did you say?"

"I said that this presence has a familiar feel to it." Kando repeated. "It's the same presence I feel when Grandmother visits us."

"Then if it's related to our grandmother, it means it has something to do with the Ashu of the West." Kei told her younger brother. "And that means either someone besides Ouga wasn't sealed or mysteriously…Ouga was unsealed…which I find pretty hard to believe considering that Dad went to great lengths to destroy Ouga."

"I find that hard to believe, but it sounds true." Kando said. "We should be careful."

A beeping sound alerted Kei to the location of the Precious. She turned her headlights to the left, ignoring the sight of blood on the walls and walked slowly down the narrow path towards a small shrine… which held the Precious.

The Sands of Memory and Time were just as Satoru had described. It was a Precious that resembled an hourglass; only at the bottom there was a small dial that had a lot of numbers on them. Just to check, Kei ran a Hazard Level check on the item. "Hazard level: 150." She informed her team. "I think this is it…the Sands of Memory & Time."

"It looks like a standard hourglass, Kei-san." Tsubasa said.

"But it's the Precious." Kando declared, stepping forward and gently picking it up, mindful of any traps. "What do you say, nee-san?"

"I guess the mission is complete." Kei said, as the Boukengers powered down and she fingered her father's wedding band, before slipping it into her pocket.

Kando, curiously, turned the hourglass over, and the numbers on the dial suddenly switched from 2031 to 2006. "Hey, nee-san…" He said holding it up. "What do you think?"

Suddenly there was a loud whooshing noise and a wormhole appeared behind Kando. "What is that?" Tsubasa shouted.

The wormhole seemed to get larger and the Boukengers all stared at it for a moment.

"Well, only one way to find out!" Kando yelled, diving through the wormhole.

"KANDO!" Kei shouted, diving after her brother.

"Kei-sama!" Satoshi cried, jumping into the wormhole.

"Satoshi-kun!" Hikari yelled, throwing herself after Satoshi.

"Hikari!" Rin screamed going after her baby sister.

Tsubasa sighed and actually pondered going after his friends and then he noticed that the wormhole was getting smaller. "Well…for adventures…" he murmured, throwing himself into the wormhole before it sealed itself up, leaving no trace of the Boukengers behind.


	3. Far Flung Through Time

Chapter Two:

Far Flung Through Time

When Kei opened her eyes again, she was lying on the sidewalk. She sat up slowly, for her head was killing her and looked around. From the looks of things, they were outside the SGS Museum…in 2006.

_Damn…_ Kei thought as she collected her bearings. _I think I know how Dad vanished…whomever attacked him must have activated the Precious and flung him through time. But that means that he could be anywhere!_

"Kei-sama!" Satoshi's voice called, causing Kei to turn around. "Kei-sama, you're not going to believe this!"

"We're in 2006, aren't we?" Kei said as she stood up and Satoshi stopped in front of her.

"Yeah and that's not the only problem." Satoshi said, holding up Kando's silver SGS jacket. "I told Kando to go hide someplace, because he has the Precious. Right after he hid, I heard my father's voice. The original Boukengers are after us. We must have either set off a Precious signal or they saw us arrive."

"We fell out of the sky with a Dangerous Precious." Kei said. "How could they NOT notice us?"

"What should we do, Kei-sama?" Satoshi asked.

"You should tell us who you are." A new voice spoke up and Kei instantly recognized her mother's serious no-nonsense tone. "Right now."

Satoshi and Kei turned and found themselves face to face with 25 years younger versions of Sakura Nishihori, Eiji Takaoka and Souta Mogami.

To Satoshi's credit, he didn't Henshin right away, but he didn't waste any time in pulling out his scope shot. Kei put a hand on his hand to stop him, shaking her head.

She faced her mother confidently. "We'll tell, but not until you take us to see Satoru Akashi. Preferably right now."

"Why do you need to see Akashi?" Eiji asked. "Why not talk to us?"

Kei smiled. "I have my reasons. Now, take me to him or I won't talk."

_Elsewhere_

If someone had told Satoru Akashi that his peaceful evening would be interrupted by a very loud Precious signal, the vision of 6 people in SGS jackets falling out of the sky with a Legendary Precious and the one in silver getting away, he would have laughed.

But here he was, chasing down two girls in black and pink SGS jackets and a boy in a blue SGS jacket with Natsuki and Masumi.

He just wanted to know where they came from.

Right until, they began to chase them, Satoru had managed to learn a few things. The man's name was Tsubasa, the girls were Rin (the black one) and Hikari (the pink one) and the girls appeared to be sisters. Rin seemed to be the older sister. Then he heard them mention teammates, with the names of Kei, Kando and Satoshi. That meant that there must be more of them.

"What should we do if we catch them, Akashi?" Masumi yelled.

"Bring them in for Questioning. They have a Precious and a team member holding it. Now, the team member is gone. I want to know what happened."

"Roger, Chiefu!" Natsuki yelled. "Hey! STOP!"

The girls in black and pink froze.

"What are you two doing?!" the boy in blue yelled.

"Mama told us to stop." The girl in pink said. "When Mama tells us to stop…we stop."

Natsuki was confused. "Did they just call me Mama?"

"Who are you?" Masumi shouted.

The girls turned and Satoru's eyes widened when he saw them. They were young, mid-twenties, maybe, and they looked remarkably like Masumi and Natsuki. The older girl wore a black SGS jacket and matching, knee-length skirt and black flat boots. Her black hair hung straight down her back and she wore the same self-confident smile Masumi often had on the rare occasion he smiled. The younger girl had dark brown hair, tied back in a ponytail with a pink ribbon. Her eyes were wide and bright and she looked a lot like Natsuki. She wore a pink SGS jacket, a light pink skirt that hit above her knee and khaki boots. Masumi, Natsuki and Satoru were also surprised at their companion, a handsome young man in a blue SGS jacket, with black leather pants, and silver jewelry…he looked just like Souta.

In fact, if Satoru didn't know any better, he might say that these girls were Natsuki and Masumi's daughters.

"Masumi…those girls look like they could be our children!" Natsuki exclaimed.

Masumi looked genuinely puzzled at her words and he looked at her. "What?"

"That's because we ARE your children." The girl in black said. "We're the Inou sisters. My name is Belle Inou, but I like to be called. 'Rin' and this…" She gestured to the girl in pink. "Is my little sister, Aurora Inou."

"Also known as Hikari-chan!" the girl in pink supplied.

"And our rude friend in blue Is Tsubasa Mogami." Rin supplied. "Nice to meet you."

"We get married in the future…and have children!" Natsuki threw her arms around Masumi and hugged him. "Natsuki always knew that Masumi would marry her!"

Hikari giggled.

Tsubasa shot the Inou Sisters a dirty look. "We're sorry for running away…we sort of have to find our friend. He's got the Precious that brought us here and we'd like to go home."

"Are you from the future?" Satoru asked Tsubasa.

"In a word, yes." Tsubasa said. "But if you want to ask us questions, you may have to ask our Chief."

Satoru raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, Sakura came running to Satoru, Souta and Eiji not far behind her. "Chiefu!"

"What is it?"

"We found their leader."

"Really? Take me to him."

"It's not a him, Chiefu." Souta added. "And their Chief actually asked to see you."

"Oh, this Chief did?" Satoru asked. He was definitely interested. "Well…where is this Chiefu?"

Eiji sighed and gestured behind him.

Coming up behind the Dazzling Adventurer, was a young woman in a red SGS jacket, similar to his own, a deep red skirt and khaki books. She was strikingly beautiful, with deep, jet black hair with white flecks in it, and she looked outrageously confident, but not arrogant. Satoru's breath left him at the sight of her. A young man in a yellow SGS jacket accompanied her, but the woman had Satoru's attention.

"Chiefu…" Natsuki murmured. "…Their Chiefu is…a girl!"


	4. 25 Years Younger

Chapter Three

25 Years Younger…

The young woman giggled at Natsuki's expression. "Why, yes I am the Chief…and yes, I am a girl." She said. "My name is Kei Nishihori." She paused and bowed. "Nice to meet you…Satoru-san."

"You know me?" Satoru asked.

"Of course, I know you." Kei replied. "You're my boss." She smiled. "I see you've met my comrades."

"Except the one with you." Satoru said.

"Oh, this is YOUR son, Satoru-san. His name is Satoshi Akashi." Kei said, patting Satoshi's shoulder.

Satoshi waved. "Hi, Dad."

Satoru paled, then coughed. _I have a SON?!_ "I take it you're Sakura's daughter."

"That's right." Kei said. "Everyone tells me I look just like her when she was younger."

"You really do." Souta piped up. "The resemblance is striking."

"You had someone else with you, didn't you Kei-san?" Natsuki asked. "Your friend with the Precious."

Kei paled. "Kando!"

"We sort of lost track of him." Rin admitted. "Don't worry, Kei-chan, we'll find him."

"Who's Kando?" Masumi asked, still wary of these new Boukengers.

"Kando Takaoka." Tsubasa piped up. "Our BoukenSilver…Eiji's son." He took a cue from Kei and was careful not to reveal that Kei and Kando were siblings. "He had the Precious when we came here and someone told him to hide. We didn't want to run into you."

"I see." Satoru said. "So, let me get this straight: Kei, you're the red, Rin, the black, Tsubasa, blue, Satoshi, yellow, Hikari, the pink, and Kando is the silver?"

"That's right." Tsubasa replied, he then looked at Kei who was yelling into the wind for Kando. "Kei-san, what are you doing?"

"Looking for Kando…" Kei replied. KANDO TAKAOKA, YOU COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW, DAMMIT! I AM NOT GOING TO SPEND ALL NIGHT LOOKING FOR YOU!"

There was a rustling noise in the tree next to her and suddenly a young man with hazelnut colored hair, clear dark eyes and a very strong resemblance to Eiji dropped out of it. "What is it, Kei-neesan?"

Kei jumped. "What the hell?!"

Kando took a moment to straighten up and reinforced his grip on the Precious. "Satoshi told me to hide, so I hid." He looked around at the original Boukengers and then at his own comrades. "So, I guess we just caused a paradox, right?"

"Something like that." Tsubasa supplied. "Kando…meet out parents…. 25 years younger."

Kando smirked. "Geez, Rin, your mom is cute!"

Rin slapped Kando. "Watch your tongue!"

"But she is cute. I'd forgotten how lovely she was when she was young."

Natsuki giggled.

Satoru didn't react or respond; his gaze was still fixed on Kei. "How did you become Chief, Kei-san?"

Kei smiled, blushing gently. "You picked me, Satoru-san. You told me I embodied the spirit of adventure that you spent your youth seeking." _And it was you who convinced me to go on after Kai died. _ "So you asked me, 'How would you like to be BoukenRed?' and I accepted and now, I'm Chief. But no one calls me that."

"She threatened to fire us if we do." Rin piped up. "She was determined to be different from Boss."

"You call me 'Boss'?" Satoru asked.

"Yeah." Hikari piped up. "And I would love to finish this conversation inside, where it's nice and warm."

"Can they stay, Chiefu?" Natsuki asked. "I mean, they're our children! We can't just kick them out."

"I wasn't going to suggest they stay anyplace else."

Kei beamed. "Thank you." She murmured, blushing.

"He's at least 25 years your senior, Kei-chan." Rin murmured in her friend's ear.

Kei looked at her friend in wonderment. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"If your mother couldn't soften the heart of Satoru Akashi, than what makes you think you can?"

"Satoru-san never looked at Mom the way he looks at me." Kei murmured to her best friend. "Besides…where else can we go? We're in a time completely unlike our own. The SGS museum is the only place that's even remotely familiar."

"Don't be stupid, Kei." Rin muttered. "Just don't be stupid…and forget your role as Chief."

"Don't call me Chief." Kei murmured.

_Inside the SGS Museum_

Because Kei was the Chief, she got to tell the Original Boukengers how exactly they'd fallen through the wormhole once the twelve were gathered in the salon.

"We're from 2031." Kei explained, taking an offered glass of iced tea from Natsuki. "A month beforehand, Eiji Takaoka, did a favor for Satoru-san. There was a suspected Precious sighting in Northern Japan, near an old tomb dedicated to the Ashu of the North. Midway through that, Eiji disappeared and hasn't been seen since." It was difficult for Kei to keep her voice from quaking and trying to maintain the cool professional demeanor she had become known for. She didn't want them to know that she was Eiji's daughter.

"There wasn't any evidence that anything happened." Tsubasa spoke up. "It was like he was just gone without a trace."

"And a search of the area turned up nothing?" Satoru asked.

"Not a single thing." Kei said. "He was like he was never even there."

"That's awful." Natsuki murmured. "Haven't you looked?"

"Dad is still prone to going off by himself all the time, but he always comes back." Kando said. "This was different. I could feel it. I could tell."

"How so?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I'm 1/4th Ashu…since I have a human mother." Kando admitted. "That's how I knew."

"I see…" Souta murmured. "Wow."

"Tell us about this Precious." Satoru asked. "What's it called?"

"We don't know much about it, because we just got it when it opened the wormhole." Kei replied. "All we know is its name: the Sands of Memory and Time."

"I see." Satoru murmured. "That sounds familiar."

"Do you know anything, Satoru-san?" Kei asked.

"Why do you call me that?" Satoru asked Kei. "Why do you call me Satoru-san?"

"When I was growing up everyone I knew, and keep in mind that I grew up in the SGS Museum, learning all about the ins and outs of being a Boukenger, called you Akashi, Chief, and anything but your name. When I was old enough…I started and then, I began to call you Satoru-san. You seemed to like that."

"It's different, I'll give you that." Satoru said. "And I think I remember where I've heard of that Precious before."

"Where?" Kei said. "Do you know more?"

Satoru looked thoughtful for another moment. "It was a long time ago…when I was with Kyoko and Masaki. We were told about this Precious through stories and we were going to seek it…but that was when…" His voice trailed off and he looked away.

The others all understood the reason for his silence.

Kei looked away. She understood. "You don't need to tell us more."

"It causes you to travel through time." Tsubasa said. "We figured THAT part out."

Kei glared at Tsubasa. "There's no need for that sort of thing." She said. "Your tone is uncalled for, Mogami Tsubasa."

"Tell us about your families!" Natsuki said, with a big smile.

Kei took notice and giggled, thinking back to the Natsuki she knew in 2031. A contented mother and wife and owner of her own flower shop, Natsuki's personality had not changed much in 25 years. She was still bubby and bright and a loving wife to Masumi and a caring mother to Rin and Hikari. She'd matured a lot, but was still the bright girl Masumi had found so long ago.

Memories of Natsuki baking her and Rin cookies were firmly etched in Kei's memories along with Christmas with her mother and father and younger brother and her father's stories about Ashu hunting throughout Japan. Kei allowed herself a smile. Their faces may have aged, but the personalities, Satoru being serious and dedicated to his job, Sakura being stoic, but still very caring, Masumi being stand-offish and slightly brash, very much a bit of a loner, Souta being the ridiculous flirt, Natsuki being bright and bubbly and childlike, and Eiji being very, well, unusual, remained. It reminded Kei and her friends of home.

At Natsuki's request the older Boukengers all stopped and coughed, looking at her with wonderment.

"Well, Natsuki wants to know." The Strong Adventurer replied. "I like the idea that I grow up to have such cute children."

Hikari was awash with giggles.

"Well, we can't tell you too much." Tsubasa said. "Telling too much would upset the balance."

"Oh, just tell us a little." Sakura encouraged. "If you can't tell us who married who, then just tell us what we're doing."

"My mother is the curator of the Sargess Museum." Sakura said. "She's very good at her job, but always takes time for her family."

"After Makino-sensei died, my father took over his spot." Tsubasa added. "And I got his AccellSuit."

"Despite your mother's protesting." Rin muttered.

"Who's your mother?" Natsuki asked, curious.

"Kaze no Shizuka…she reformed." Tsubasa muttered.

Souta's eyebrow went up.

"You've got to be kidding." Masumi said, his eyes widened. "Shizuka is YOUR mother?"

"Well, yeah…. what is that bad or something?" Tsubasa asked.

"Not really." Sakura said, shooting Souta a look and muttering "Better Shizuka than Myuu."

Souta chuckled. "Well, I see where you got your dashing good looks. "

"Yeah, from his playboy dad." Rin muttered.

"Don't hate because I got decent good looks from my dad and the only thing you got from yours was the darkness within and bad teeth." Tsubasa said.

"You son of a bitch!" Rin shouted, leaping up from her chair and moving towards Tsubasa.

Quickly, calmly, Kei got up and placed herself in between the quarrelling High Up Adventurer and the Fast Adventurer. "Enough." She said. "You two stop it right now."

Tsubasa smirked. "Be thankful that your best friend is always there to bail you out."

"That's enough out of you, Tsubasa Mogami." Kei said, coolly, her tone reminiscent of Sakura's. "When I say stop it, I mean that both of you need to stop."

"Yes, Chief." Rin and Tsubasa said.

"Don't call me Chief." Kei said. "I hate it when people call me Chief. Where do people get this crazy idea that I enjoy being called Chief?"

"Maybe because people called my Dad Chief?" Satoru asked.

"Do I look like your dad, Satoshi?" Kei asked.

"No, thank god." Satoshi muttered.

Kei raised her eyebrow and then spoke. "Rin and Hikari, as you might have already guessed because they tend to act a lot like their parents, are Masumi and Natsuki's daughters. Rin's the older girl."

"And it shows, right nee-san?" Hikari asked.

Rin gave her sister a withering look. "Why must you always be such a pain in the butt?"

"Because I'm the baby sister. I'm always a pain."

"Ain't that the truth." Rin muttered. "Sometimes you are just like mom."

Hikari beamed. "You say that like it's bad."

Rin shot her best friend a look that clearly screamed. "Help!"

"Hey, my little brother is not quite the pain your little sister is." Kei said. "And you know, Hikari. She wants to be just like her nee-san…which I think is kind of cute."

Hikari beamed.

"You know…now that the two of them are next to each other, Hikari does look just like her mother. " Tsubasa pointed out. "And her mom is really cute."

"Tsubasa, that's nine levels of creepy." Rin muttered.

"Satoshi," Kei began, deciding to change the subject, "is Satoru-san's son."

"With who?" Satoru said. "Although I'm pretty shocked that I have a son to speak of. I didn't think I'd ever have children."

"He looks just like you, Chief." Souta remarked. "Right down to the hair."

Satoshi beamed. "Hikari-chan always tells me that I should be attracting women left and right with my inherited good looks."

The younger Inou sister giggled and planted her head on his shoulder. "Well, he's certainly got an admirer in me."

"And you should be less than obvious about it." Rin said. "Your overeager ness is a little off-putting."

"I find it adorable. Hikari-chan's like a bright ray of sunshine. How can you NOT love her?" Satoshi asked with a big smile.

"By being in love with Kei-chan and being less than subtle about it." Rin muttered. "I swear, everyone knows BUT Kei."

"Rin Inou, you are the biggest pessimist I have ever met." Kando said.

"And if you couldn't guess just by looking at him, this is Kando Takaoka." Rin said, resisting the urge to say that he was her baby brother. "Eiji Takaoka's son… which is semi-obvious."

"You need to cut your hair." Satoshi said.

"I like my hair the way it is." Kando stated. "It makes me look like my dad."

"And why do you consider that to be a good thing?"

"Because everyone tells me I act just like him."

"That's not a good thing you know."

"You know what Satoshi? You can just go to…"

"Kando!" Kei snapped.

"Just because he's Boss' son…"

"That's not why I stopped you. Satoshi, that was also out of line." Kei had on her best "Chief" voice. "Kando takes some pride in being like Eiji-san. I find it admirable when a child wants to be like their father."

"Just like Kei-chan is like Sakura-san by liking Akashi-san." Hikari muttered.

Rin gave her little sister another pointed look. "Now, Hikari…"

"But it's true, nee-san!" Hikari protested.

Kei laughed. "I admire Satoru-san." She said. "I don't like him like that. He's our boss…and twenty-six years my senior…although now…" She looked at Satoru and found herself lost in his eyes for a moment. "…the age difference doesn't seem so big."

Satoru smiled at her.

Kei blushed.

Rin shook her head. "What did I say about being stupid?" she hissed to her friend.

"I'm not being stupid. I'm just…having fun." Kei chuckled and took another peek at Satoru, who was still looking at her with a curious eye. She could pick up on a bit of attraction to her and to be honest, she felt something for him, too. He was certainly very handsome at 24 and his attention was flattering.

"You wouldn't' happen to have some place were I could…freshen up, do you?" Kei asked, turning her attention to Satoru.

"Oh, you're welcome to use the shower in my room." Satoru said, a bit quickly. "If the layout of the dorms is anything like it is now then mine's…"

"At the end of the hall." Kei finished. "Chiefs get the largest bedrooms."

Rin inwardly groaned. _What is she doing?!_ "I'll come with you."

"Oh, that's okay, Rin-chan." Kei said. "I'm sure I can find it." She gave her friend a smile and then left the salon.

The new gen Boukengers looked at each other and then at Satoru and then at each other again.

There was definitely something fishy going on between Kei and Satoru. It could be a harmless mutual crush, could be the blossomings of a romance or it could be nothing. But there was definitely something there.


	5. The Importance of Being Chiefu, Part One

Chapter Four:

The Importance of Being Chiefu, Part One

Kei sighed softly as she stripped out of her uniform and neatly placed it on the edge of Satoru's bed before padding into the bathroom. To her, "freshening up" meant taking a warm shower to clear her mind.

And clearing her mind meant not thinking about Kai. At least, not as much as she was used to.

It took a moment to adjust the water, but it was soon at the temperature she desired (and could stand): scalding hot…hot enough to take your skin off, but then again, Kei was used to unusually high temperatures. She was, after all…1/4th Ashu and heat never seemed to affect her as much as it did her friends and younger brother.

She sighed as she stepped under the soothing cascade and began to wash herself slowly, allowing all the bad things to be washed away with the dirt and grime.

That was when the image of the younger Satoru Akashi slid into her mind. She'd seen pictures of Satoru at 24, but the pictures didn't do him any justice. He was almost earth shatteringly handsome with broad shoulders, a nicely defined face, black spiky hair, and deep eyes to drown in. It was fascinating to see him so young, so handsome…so single.

_He's twenty-six years your senior! _ Her brain screamed. _TWENTY-SIX!!! He's old enough to be your father…. but yet, he's not…at least not in this decade. And look at him! He's never even looked at **his wife** the way he's looking at you! Mother would have KILLED for a chance to have him look at her that way. _She bit her lip at the thought of her mother. What if Sakura had discovered that her two children, the only things keeping hr alive at this point, had vanished in the same manner that her husband did? It would kill her…and Kei certainly didn't want to go back to her time to find out that she and Kando had lost their mother…especially if they found Eiji, the now, early 50's Eiji, dead. It was almost too much to think about.

Kei sighed. Obviously, her tormented mind would not clear. She refused to give up hope. She and her fellow Boukengers would find her Father and bring him home to her mother and everything would be right again. She turned her face upwards to rinse the soap off and then exited the shower, wrapping herself in a warm bathrobe she found in the bathroom.

_Kai used to leave me bathrobes when he came in and heard me showering. _She thought, her heart aching at the thought of her lost fiancé. She felt the beginnings of wetness at her eyes. _Kai…._

"Are you all right, Kei-san?" Satoru's voice, soft and concerned and untainted by age, asked. "You seem a little pale."

_Meanwhile, in Sakura's bedroom…_

"So…we get married in the future." Eiji murmured softly as he sat on the edge of Sakura's bed, carefully painting her toenails. "And have two children…. and I've gone missing. But that's not what worries me. What worries me is that Kei lied about me being her father. I know she's mine. She's part Ashu. I can sense it…so why would she…."

"Probably because she knows that we have just begun." Sakura replied, idly scribbling some stuff down in a notebook. "She also doesn't want to out us too soon, so she kept her mouth shut. She looks enough like me to pass it off. I'm not mad at her, and neither should you be."

"Did you see the way Akashi looks at Kei?" Eiji muttered. "He shouldn't be looking at her like that. She's my kid! I think I'll…"

"He's interested in her." Sakura replied. "I've never seen Chief like that before. I didn't even know he liked girls."

"I remember when it was you who wanted him to look at you like that, Sakura." Eiji murmured, planting a kiss on one of her toes. "You were so frustrated. I think you went out with me to make him jealous and when that didn't work…you'd already fallen for me, so I got to keep you."

She giggled.

"See, you're over him already." Eiji said as he finished the last of her toes.

_Masumi's bedroom…_

Natsuki was very happy as she looked through some pictures that Rin and Hikari kept with them. "See, Masumi?" she murmured. "Look how happy we are."

She held up a picture of a slightly older Masumi and herself on their wedding day and then of one with them and a baby Rin. "We make a nice family."

Masumi chuckled as he looked at photos of him and Natsuki as they grew older with their children and then a photo of them in Kyoto that was marked "April 2031…24th wedding anniversary for Mama & Papa"

He looked at the versions of himself and Natsuki in the picture and then he looked up at the smiling Natsuki before him. "All Natsuki ever wanted was a family." She announced. "And now, she's going to get one…right?"

Masumi looked at her and thought of the ring he had tucked away. "Yeah, Natsuki. You're going to have a family."

She squealed and dove on him, sending the pictures flying. "I love you, Masumi!"

He laughed as they hit the bed, embracing her tightly. "I know."

_Back In The Salon…_

Rin sighed as she opened up a copy of Clamp's "Angelic Layer", a manga she hadn't read in a while. She preferred alone time in the salon to being with most of the others, except Kei. As she idly read through the book, she heard the soft strains of a guitar begin to play.

"Tsubasa Mogami, I am not speaking to you." She said without looking up.

"Right last name, wrong first name." Souta's voice replied.

Rin peeked over her book. "Oh, Souta-sensei."

25 years younger than the Souta she was used to seeing, Souta was sitting on his usual chair, strumming his guitar. He gave her a winning smile and Rin's whole face went pink. She could see how so many ladies found him so charming.

"You don't get along with my Tsubasa very well, do you?" Souta asked.

"Not really…we're quite different." Rin replied. "And what I don't like about him is the fact that he clearly loves Kei, but won't say a single word to her. Not that it would matter, she'd never return his affection."

"Why not?" Souta was curious.

Rin sighed. "Because Kei was engaged to someone who worked at SGS with us before and he died in an accident. After that, she swore never to fall in love with a comrade again. So, even though everyone knows that Tsubasa's goal is to make Kei his bride, we also know that she'll never return his feelings or agree to be his wife. It's ridiculously sad." She sighed, shaking her head. "He's like Satoshi in that respect. Those two are hopelessly in love with Kei, but Kei doesn't love them…at least, not in the way they want her to. And what makes this worse, is that my baby sister likes Satoshi a lot…you saw the way she hung on him earlier. It's like one big love triangle!"

"And that makes you upset?" Souta asked.

"Yes, because it hurts Hikari." Rin put down her book and punched her hand. "And I hurt people who hurt my baby sister."

"What about you?" Souta asked. "Don't you have a stake in this?"

"If you're asking me if I like Tsubasa, the answer is no. He's a comrade…not a potential love interest." Rin turned her dark gaze on Souta for the first time. "Besides…a Mogami is not my type."

"Not even the father?"

Souta's tone made it clear…he was flirting with her. At this revelation, she giggled. "Well, I suppose the father is not so bad."

Souta placed his guitar back in its usual spot and then descended the steps to Rin's side. "Well, then, if I am not so bad, how about I take you out for sushi?"

Rin smiled and Souta's heart melted. "I'd like that."

Souta bent over, took Rin's hand and gently kissed it. "How about now?"

Her eyes sparkled and Souta could definitely see the Natsuki in her. "Now works."

_Back In Satoru's bedroom…. _

"I'm fine." Kei lied, not wanting to give too much away. "I usually look a little pale when I emerge from a shower."

"I brought you some fresh clothes to wear." Satoru handed Kei a small bundle of clothing. "They belong to your mother, but since you two appear to be the same size, I'm sure they'll fit. I can give you some money to go and go shopping to get you and your friends some other things to wear for the time being."

"Oh, thank you, Satoru-san." Kei said, taking the bundle. "You're very kind."

"You're welcome. Will you need anything else?"

"Yes…my jacket as a matter of fact, since it has my Accellular, my Scope Shot and some other, ah, personal items in the pockets." Kei smiled. "You understand, right?"

Satoru nodded. "I'll get that for you." He said, leaving the room so Kei could change into the clothing.

When he returned, he found her sitting on his bed, looking at a picture he kept on his nightstand of him, Masaki and Kyoko. "I remember when I was told about these two. I felt bad for you. I know what that was like."

Satoru smiled sadly. "I miss them."

Kei smiled back. "I know…." Her eyes lit up a little. "Oh, wow! You got me my jacket! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." Satoru's voice was soft and gentle as he handed her the red SGS jacket.

Kei looked up at him and she felt the pull of her heart again. He smiled at her and Kei nervously smiled back. "Oh, Satoru-san, thank you for your kindness. I don't know what my team would have done if you and the others hadn't found us."

Satoru smiled, nodded and said. "Will you need anything else?"

Kei smiled, more widely this time, her dark eyes shimmering in the soft light of the room. "Just directions to my own room."

Satoru showed her to the door, opened it and then pointed to the door across the hall. "Chief's get special rooms." He said. "So, there is your room…Chief."

Kei's face was as scarlet as her jacket as she padded across the hall to her bedroom. The only time she didn't mind being called "Chief" was when Satoru was the one saying it to her.

Once inside her room, Kei sank to the floor with a dreamy sigh. "He called me 'Chief'." She murmured. "He called ME 'Chief'".

_Meanwhile…out In Tokyo_

"Now, wasn't that the best sushi you've ever had, Rin-chan?" Souta asked as he and Rin left the sushi place.

"I admit, that revolving sushi bars are fun…I wonder why Dad never took Mom to one." Rin said. "And Sakura-san was right. Mom really has had Dad wrapped around her finger for a long time. It's so clear to me now. And they really are so cute together."

"Yeah, it makes you wonder what's taking Masumi so long." Souta said. "If I had a girl like Natsuki-chan, I'd marry her right away. I wouldn't wait two years, because see, girls get impatient."

"This is why Mom was blessed with a lot of patience. She was patient enough to wait for Dad, because she would have no one else but him."

Souta smiled. "Is Natsuki-chan happy in the future? You know, with Masumi?"

"Yes…Mom's very happy with Dad. She runs a flower shop with him, while Dad works part time writing books. She's always smiling. The only difference between her here and her in the future is a few age lines and some grey hairs."

Souta smiled. "You do look like a lot like Natsuki-chan…not as much as Hikari-chan, but enough for people to know you're her daughter. You're very cute."

Rin blushed and Souta laughed.

"What?!' Rin cried.

"You're pretty." He said. "Thank you for getting sushi with me."

"You're welcome…Souta-sensei."

"Souta."

"You're twenty-six years my senior…. I can't just call you by your…"

Souta pressing his lips to hers and embracing her cut off her words.

Her eyes went wide. _Souta-sensei… _She thought, letting her eyes close.

_Back In Makino's Workshop_

"I wonder where your sister went off to, Hikari." Kando wondered idly as they stood in Makino's workshop, reading over the plans of SirenBuilder. "I can't believe I haven't seen these yet."

"I think Souta-sensei took her out for sushi." Hikari said with a smile. "I think he was flirting with her earlier. If Dad could see, he'd flip out."

"Much like he would if he found you flirting with Akashi-sama's son, Satoshi." Kando pointed out. "Look, Hikari, if you like him so damn much, just tell him! Confess! Get it all out in the open."

"You should do the same about your feelings for my nee-san." Hikari said.

"I have." Kando looked at little sad. "And she kept going on about how cute it was."

"You're her best friend's little brother. OF course she's going to think it's cute."

"You know how much I hate it when people misunderstand my feelings. Dad had the same issues with my mother. Dad didn't often know how to express his feelings and Mom misunderstood him." Kando sighed. "I want to be understood! I don't want Rin-san to think that my feelings are a big joke."

Hikari looked at the younger Dazzling Adventurer and her heart ached at the sight of him looking so down. It must be hard on him to look at Rin and have such strong feelings for her and know that she wouldn't take his feelings seriously.

Hikari sighed and shifted through more papers until she found the plans for DaiVoyager and looked at them with a curious eye. "So this is DaiVoyager."

"I thought it was called GouGou Voyager." Kando said.

"That's the assault weapon form." Hikari explained. "DaiVoyager is the robot form. I think Chief is the only one who's seen it at all. I remember reading about this but never thinking we'd get a shot at it."

"If nee-san heard you say that, she'd knock you out." Kando said. "You know how much she hates being called Chief."

Hikari smiled at Kando and continued to look at the plans, making mental notes as she did. "Kei-san was right about you, Kando…you are a pretty cool guy." She mussed the hazelnut hair and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for keeping me company." She sighed and put down the plans in frustration. "Hey…have you seen Tsubasa?"

_Outside Kei's Bedroom_

Tsubasa banged on the door once or twice, yelling "Kei-chan! Open the door!"

"Go away!" Kei cried, her voice obviously shaky. "Please, Tsubasa, go away!"

"Tsubasa...is there a problem?" Satoru asked, cracking open the door to his room.

"There's something wrong with Kei-chan." Tsubasa said. "Her voice sounds funny."

Satoru knocked on the door. "Kei?"

"Satoru-san, please go away. I'm not feeling well." Kei murmured.

"Tsubasa, please go away for a moment." Satoru instructed calmly.

When Tsubasa was gone, Satoru tried the door and was surprised the door opened easily. "Kei?"

"No! Don't come in!" her voice was strangled and choked, as though she was trying very, very hard to hold something back. "Please leave me, Satoru-san…I don't want you to see me this way."

"What way…" Satoru eyes widened and his voice trailed off as he saw Kei sitting hunched over in a corner. Her hair was a brilliant white shade, and there was a purplish birthmark underneath her left eye. She was trying to force the breath out of her body.

"Kei?" Satoru murmured and the white head moved to look up at him. She growled.

"Satoru-san…please…"

In that moment, Kei's parentage became crystal clear and Satoru could see that she was struggling to hold onto her humanity.

_She's a Takaoka…Eiji's daughter!_ He thought

Kei's breathing was ragged as she struggled to bring herself to her feet. "Satoru-san…"

"Kei…it's all right. I'm not afraid." He moved to her, slowly, carefully, making sure not to try to upset her more. "I've seen this before."

She stumbled, a soft hissing noise emerging from her throat. It was like watching Eiji struggle with his own Ashu side again. She fell to the floor and whimpered. "Kai…" she murmured, slowly. "…. Satoru-san…" Then, quickly, she dove towards Satoru, snarling, fangs bared and he ducked, grabbing her in a tight embrace.

"Kei! Remember who you are!"

Kei whimpered and fought against Satoru, but he would not let go. "Remember…. Kei…"

An image of Kai Tomasu, the love of her life, flashed through Kei's mind and that seemed to break her.

Suddenly, a choked sob came out of her throat and he could see the white hair slowly turning black again. She was sobbing against Satoru, pounding her fists against his chest.

Satoru let her pound her fists against him until finally, she slumped to the floor, sniffling.

He looked down at her, and then knelt so he could look in her eyes. "Kei…"

"What?"

"Who are you?


	6. The Importance of Being Chiefu, Part Two

Chapter Five

The Importance of Being Chiefu, Part Two

Kei sniffled and sighed, looking up at Satoru with sad eyes. "My name is Kei Takaoka…the daughter of Eiji and Sakura Takaoka."

"Sakura married Eiji?"

"Yes…and never said anything to you about it until she became pregnant with me. Apparently, after that, you two had some kind of fight because you never spoke to each other the same way again. When you speak, it's with chilly tones. So, I lied about my name so you wouldn't be any wiser."

"I see." Satoru murmured.

"I didn't mean to lie!" Kei wailed. "I just…didn't want you to think less of my mother, who loves my father because you never noticed that she loved you!"

Satoru sat back on his haunches. "I see."

"I'm sorry." Kei murmured. "It's just that…."

"I know your mother loved me." Satoru said, softly. "I just couldn't return her feelings because while I respect her as a comrade and sub-chief, I just don't love her. And I had my own baggage to deal with. Loving another comrade after losing Kyouko was out of the question."

"You sound like me." Kei said. "I too, lost someone that I loved dearly."

"Who was he?"

Kei smiled a sad smile and leaned back against the end of her bed. "His name was Kai Tomasu and he was the love of my life…although I don't think I truly loved him."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I never told him about the Ashu in me."

_Meanwhile, In Sakura's bedroom_

Sakura had turned over to go asleep, and Eiji had gotten out of bed and picked up his silver SGS jacket. He smiled as he pulled a small pink velvet ring box out of the pocket. His adventure as an Ashu watcher was over…his adventure as a man was just beginning.

"Sakura…" Eiji murmured as he got into bed, gently shaking her shoulder. "Wake up."

Sakura turned over to look at him. "Oh, Eiji... what is it?"

"Now that the Ashu are gone, I can finally confess my feelings." He looked the dark eyes that he loved so much, the eyes that could see into his soul. "Sakura Nishihori, I don't know what a lady of wealth and power like you could ever see in a lowly drifter like me, but I'm so glad to be your prince. I can't afford to give you the world, but I'm going to die trying to give you everything. Now, that my life as an Ashu Watcher is over, I can begin my life, my adventure, as a man. I want you to walk that road with me, Sakura, for you are the light in my heart, the love of my life…"

Sakura placed her hands over her mouth, gasping softly, her eyes moist. She had a feeling that she knew what was coming.

He chose that moment to bring out the pink velvet box. "Sakura Nishihori…will you marry me?"

He opened the box to reveal a beautiful silver ring with a pink diamond. Inscribed on it were various Ashu sealing symbols.

She began to cry.

"Is that a yes?"

Elsewhere in the SGS museum

Kando had fallen asleep in the salon and Hikari felt herself dozing off as Tsubasa entered the salon, looking worried.

"What is it, Tsubasa?" Hikari asked, rubbing her dark eyes.

"I think Kei is sick or something. I went to check on her in her room and she sounded funny. Akashi-sama made me leave, so I had no idea what happened."

"Maybe, Kei-san had one of her spells again." Hikari said. "You know she's prone to them when she's under stress." She made a frustrated noise. "Where the hell is nee-san? She should be back from having sushi with Souta by now."

Meanwhile….

Souta's bedroom reminded Rin of Tsubasa's bedroom, only it was much more organized than Tsubasa's…but still it was very blue in tone, right down to the blue guitar in the corner.

A trail of clothes, including a black skirt, leather pants, two SGS jackets, and lord knows what else lead up to Souta's bed, which Rin was currently occupied…. with Souta.

When they said that Souta had been quite the lady-killer when he was a young man, they weren't kidding. He was incredibly skilled as he showered her with feather-soft kisses, touched her, and made her feel things she'd never felt before. This surpassed her wildest fantasies. He made her feel…special, like she was somebody.

Souta's kiss burned her lips and seared her soul and he lifted himself from her and gave her a smile. "You're beautiful." He murmured, rolling off her onto his side and admiring her.

If Rin had ever felt sexy at any point before in her life, she couldn't remember it. She stretched until her black toes curled, surprised at Souta's choice of bed sheets. "Blue silk?"

"I like silk." Souta murmured as he propped himself on his elbows to look into her eyes. "I find it interesting to sleep in luxury." He smiled at her. "I like that necklace." He said, pointing to the small bell Rin wore around her neck.

"Mama gave it to me when I was six and told me to cherish it. I've never taken it off."

"That explains your nickname." Souta said. "Isn't your real name Belle?"

"Yes." Rin replied. "I got my nickname from…"

"…the sound of a bell." Souta finished, kissing Rin again, pinning her against the deep blue silk. He smiled at her. "It's a charming nickname."

"My sister thought it up when she was little. " Rin explained. "She couldn't say my real name so she called me 'Rin'"

Souta chuckled. "You talk as though you've never had a man speak to you before."

"I can honestly say that I haven't." Rin said. "Mostly people notice Hikari and comment on how pretty and cute she is and then, when they look at me...no one ever says anything. They whisper about how I'm not as cute as my sister and I just look away. No one's ever said I was cute before you did."

Souta smiled again and Rin felt his smile tug at her heart and finally, just grab it and not let go. "Rin-chan, how about I take you to a very nice restaurant tomorrow night? I will give you money to go and buy yourself some really nice clothes and we can go and have a good time. Would you like that?"

Rin's eyes widened at his words. She didn't think that Souta would still show her any interest after this night. "You mean it?"

"Of course, I mean it." Souta murmured. "You are my special lady. I won't be entertaining any more girls after this night. From now on, I'll be entertaining you."

Rin's cheeks were red. Souta Mogami only gave up his playboy ways if there was a _very_ special lady in his life and it looked like…it sounded like…she was it.

Elsewhere…

Natsuki had fallen asleep on Masumi's bed, wrapped in his jacket, the picture of her wedding day tightly clasped in one hand. She looked so cute that Masumi didn't dare wake her up.

Instead, he went over to the desk in his room and pulled out a black velvet box from a drawer and opened it. Inside lay a beautiful white gold ring with a yellow diamond on it. He'd saved up for six months to buy the ring for her. He couldn't wait for the right moment to propose to her.

Suddenly, he heard Natsuki's voice. "Masumi, what's that?"

He looked at her and then back at the ring and then looked at her again. Natsuki looked so sweet and cute in his jacket. Natsuki cocked her head.

Suddenly, Masumi held out the ring to her. "Marry me, Natsuki."

Natsuki gasped.

_Back in Kei's bedroom_

Kei sighed as she leaned back against her bed. "When I was 17 years old, I met Kai Tomasu…apparently he was a fellow treasure hunter. He found Rin and me while we were hunting Precious. He and I hit it off right away."

Satoru nodded, silently indicating for Kei to continue.

"We courted for a year and eventually, he asked me to be his wife. He'd moved into the SGS museum then and we were well on our way to becoming Boukenger as well as a married couple. I accepted and then…came the head of Medusa."

"The Head of Medusa?" Satoru asked. "As in the Greek myth?"

"The very same. " Kei answered. Her voice became wobbly. "Kai didn't heed my warning about not looking directly at the head and he looked straight at it…and was turned into stone. She looked as though she was about to break. "And since even then, there was no known way to reverse the curse, we had no way to make him human again."

Satoru had a feeling that Kai being turned to stone was just the tip of the iceberg.

Kei began to cry softly. "And then, Rin accidentally activated a trap and then there was an explosion…" She paused and her voice began breaking more and finally she could only make choked sobbing noises. "…he…he was…oh God!" She looked at Satoru, tears streaming down her face.

"…he was destroyed in the resulting explosion, wasn't he?" Satoru asked, looking into the dark eyes.

Kei nodded, sobbing and throwing herself into Satoru's embrace.

"I see…that is almost like what happened to me and Kyouko." Satoru murmured, the pain in his heart clear in his voice. "Kyouko was one of my partners in treasure hunting…back when I was called the Immortal Fangs."

"…because you could find any treasure…no matter how impossible it was said to find it." Kei murmured, her voice weak with sobs.

"That's right. Anyway, Kyouko was the only thing I loved more than adventuring. I loved her so much that it seemed like asking her to marry me was the next logical step. " Satoru paused. "I had a ring made for her and presented it to her after we retrieved a treasure, asking if she would be my wife. Kyoko was so happy that she began to cry."

Kei kept sobbing into Satoru's shoulder and he held her tenderly. "And she wanted to know what took me so long before she accepted my proposal of marriage." Satoru paused and his voice grew slightly softer. "And then...the accident happened and she was gone. I was consumed with grief because I hadn't been able to get help for her. And I told myself then and there, that I would never fall for another comrade. That's why I could never love your mother. Even though I know she loved me, I couldn't return her feelings. Losing Kyouko hurt me that deeply. "

"Mother thought that you didn't see her as anything other than the Sub-Chief. " Kei murmured. "She thought that you didn't love her the way she wanted you to."

"I do love her, just not in the way she wanted me to." Satoru confessed. "I love her as a friend. I don't think I could ever love another woman the way I loved Kyouko."

"You should tell Mother that." Kei said, looking up into his eyes and in that moment, she could feel his pain just as plainly as she could feel her own. "You ignoring her feelings hurt her very deeply."

Satoru looked down at her for a moment and then before he could stop himself and before Kei could stop herself, their lips met in a gentle, chaste kiss

_Satoru-san…_ Kei thought, tears still falling down her cheeks. _Don't let go of me, Satoru-san…_

The Next Morning…

The New Generation Boukengers had all gathered in the salon for breakfast and when Kei, still reeling from the events of the previous night, came into the salon, a panic-stricken Hikari bombarded her.

"I can't find nee-chan!" Hikari cried, in a full-blown panic. "She went out for Sushi with Souta-sensei last night and never came back to the museum. Neither did Souta! I don't know what to do! I've looked all over this place and I can't find nee-chan!"

"It's true, Kai-sama." Satoshi said. "Rin-san is nowhere to be found and she hasn't answered her Accellular. I think she and Souta-sensei ran into some trouble."

Kei sighed. This wasn't like Rin.

And suddenly, the door to the salon opened with a cheerful ring and in sashayed Rin, with a big grin on her face and a spring in her step. "Good morning!" She announced. "What a lovely day."

"NEE-CHAN!" Hikari cried. "I was so worried! Where have you been?"

"Oh…in the museum." Rin replied. "I just didn't answer my Accellular."

"What the hell were you doing last night?" Kei asked.

Rin's grin was so big that she looked like the cat that ate the canary. She turned to her best friend and plainly replied "Souta."

The room grew so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

"What?" Kei asked, her voice flat.

Rin giggled. "Souta." She repeated.

Kei exploded. "YOU DID WHAT?!"


	7. I Think I Love You

Chapter Six:

I Think I Love You…So What Am I So Afraid Of?

Author's Notes: There are a couple of scenes in this that are borderline R. There are spoilers at the end of this, especially for task 45 & 46.

"I did Souta." Rin sounded proud. "After he took me out for sushi, we can back and he and I…made love."

"YOU SLEPT WITH MY DAD?" Tsubasa yelled. "Were you high?"

"Not quite." Rin smiled. "If I was high on anything, it was my own hormones."

"Rin, how could you do this!?" Kei cried. "You told me not to be stupid!"

"Yes, but that's because you like Akashi-san." Rin reminded her friend. "You really can't mess with Akashi-san because he's Chief. "

Kei touched her lips for a moment, remembering the feeling of Satoru pressing his mouth to hers and kissing her deeply, his strong arms encircling her and holding her tight. This was something that had buried itself within the annals of her consciousness and had hidden itself there, waiting for the right moment to emerge. She sighed and looked at Rin, who was so obviously happy and satisfied with herself.

Rin laughed. "Is something bothering you, Kei-chan?"

"Do you like Souta-sensei, Rin-chan?" Kei asked, exasperated.

"Clearly." Tsubasa muttered. "What if you got pregnant?"

"I won't because we used protection." The Fast Adventurer clarified. "I don't think Souta wants any little Mogami's running around. …aside from the big jerk he and Shizuka gave birth to."

Tsubasa's eyes narrowed. Rin smirked.

"Nee-chan, I was really worried about you." Hikari said. "I hoped that nothing bad happened to you."

"I should have called you, Hikari, I know." Rin patted her little sister's head. "I didn't mean to worry you. I was just having such a good time with Souta that I lost all track of time."

Hikari smiled. "It's all right, nee-chan."

Kando was very confused. "What the heck just happened?"

"I think Rin-san slept with Souta-sensei." Satoshi clarified.

Kando raised an eyebrow, gave Rin an odd glance and then returned to his breakfast of salad and V-8. He was known for being a man of few words when he was in Rin's presence.

Satoshi found this all very funny. "Kei-sama, you know if I wanted to be around Dad all the time, I'd have lived with him. Instead, I go on adventures with you. But now, you're acting like Dad."

Kei gave Satoshi a look. "I'm not your father, although at times I feel like it."

Meanwhile, in the Cafeteria

Souta had to duck to avoid Masumi's punch and easily blocked it. "Masumi, chill!" he said, holding up his hands.

"You PERVERT!" Masumi shouted, blindly tossing his fists. "That was MY DAUGHTER you slept with!"

"She technically doesn't exist yet." Souta said, ducking again.

"She's still my kid!" Masumi stopped trying to punch and then shoved Souta backwards. "You had no right."

"She 22 and right now, I am 23. She's beautiful and kind and wonderful. Any man would be lucky to snare her. I enjoyed Rin's company very much and in fact, I'm going to take her out again tonight. She's charming."

"You can't take her out if you're dead." Masumi muttered, his fist going up to knock Souta cold.

"Dad!" Rin's voice rang out and Masumi stopped. "Stop that!"

"Rin-chan!" Souta said, smiling.

The new Gen Boukengers had arrived and they were watching this exchange curiously. Rin quickly rushed over and pried her father's hands away from Souta's jacket. "Dad, don't do stuff like that."

"It's not like your father can do anything." Kando spoke up, raising an eyebrow.

"Kando, don't." Kei warned.

"I'm serious, Kei nee-chan." Kando said. "Look at him. Dad was right! That IS what happens when you don't eat all your vegetables. You wind up being scrawny looking and malnourished, cranky, mean and well…just look!"

"Kando, your father is not always right." Hikari muttered, sensing an argument brewing and trying to smooth things other.

"Well, he had a good point!" Kando exclaimed. "I'm proud that he made me eat all of my vegetables. At least I'll be strong and not looking like I belong in some third world country."

"You take that back you arrogant son of a…"

"RIN, STOP!" Kei thundered.

Rin fixed her best friend with a murderous glare. "You tell your brother to stop! My father was not malnourished!"

"Kando, don't provoke her." Kei warned her brother. "This is not that the time for that."

It took a moment for Rin's words to sink in and then, eyes went wide and Rin cringed. "Ooops."

"Kando's your brother, Kei-san?" Natsuki asked. "Then if he's your brother and if Sakura-san's your mother, then that means that Ei-chan's your father!"

Eyes turned towards Eiji and Sakura. Sakura's face was ridiculously red.

"Belle Inou, I am going to kill you." Kei muttered.

"Nee-chan, that was sort of uncalled for," Hikari said.

"Well, Kando started it! Calling my father malnourished…. at least it's better than being a full blown, vegetable munching, loner, half demon psycho, like HIS father."

"PSYCHO!" Kando roared. "How dare you, you obnoxious bitch! At least I don't have to worry about my older sister babysitting me the way you baby-sit Hikari! Never letting her grow up…always telling her what to do…"

"Because that is what older sisters do!" Rin yelled. "They take care of their younger siblings…something Kei does for you! You never seem to complain when she tells you what to do!"

Kando paused at Rin's words and Rin shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder if the rumors were true and you two just got your positions because it was Akashi-sama's twisted way of getting back on your mother's good side! It's clear that Akashi favors you, especially, you Kei! You are just like your mother! Are you going to spend your life chasing after him, too?"

"Nee-chan…" Hikari tugged at Rin's jacket. "…Kei's your friend, remember? You're hurting her."

Rin paused and looked over at her friend. "Kei-chan…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to say those things…I had heard them at the museum after you got appointed as BoukenRed. You know how things were then…rumors were flying and I'd heard things from my Dad and you know how my dad can be." Rin exhaled. "I…I…I'll be honest, I have no idea what it's like to be in your shoes."

"You shouldn't trust her, nee-chan." Kando said. "I've been telling you that for years. Rin-san resents you."

"Kando, be quiet." Kei snapped. "Rin's my best friend and friends have fights. Things get said. But, Rin-chan said she was sorry and that's what matters. You would know if you ever bothered to make friends."

Kando didn't say anything, he just made a disgusted noise and left.

"Does anyone else find it odd that Kando-kun likes Rin?" Tsubasa spoke up.

Kei sighed and slid to the floor. "Brash and abrasive and completely unsure of his feelings…like father, like son."

"Are you all right, Kei-sama?" Satoshi asked.

The young Fiery adventurer cast a glance at him and then she looked up at Satoru, who'd knelt before her. "Are you, Kei? Are you okay?"

"I watch after Kando because my mother asked me to. Sometimes, Kando is…a little anti-social and he tends to behave like my father did a while ago…. but he's good at what he does, I'll give him that." Kei's voice was soft.

She stood up. "I need some air."

"Kei-chan..." Rin began, but Kei held up a hand.

"I know that you didn't mean to say such nasty things. But…about my mother…that happens to be right."

Rin's eyes widened. "I am?"

"It was the eternal sore spot with my father." Kei said, walking to the window. "When they were dating, Dad was upset that Mother made him keep it a secret because she was afraid of what Satoru-san would think."

"More importantly, what he would think of her." Satoshi muttered. "Kei-sama, I am sorry, but your mother was a suck-up."

Kei gave him a glare and Satoshi quickly shut up. "When my parents got married, they did it quietly and Mother STILL didn't want Satoru-san to know. In fact, if I remember correctly, Mother didn't tell Satoru-san about her and my father until she became pregnant with me and had no choice."

The room was silent, so Kei continued. "I don't know all the details, but based on the fact that their relationship since that day has been nothing short of icy, they had some sort of huge fallout. When Satoru-san came to our house to ask me if I would consider being a Boukenger, Mother initially wouldn't let him in until I told her to. She told me later that she didn't want me working for him and I told her that as museum curator, she was already working for him. She told me that she did it only because she enjoyed her job, not her boss and so I asked her if her dislike of Satoru-san had really gone so far that she despised him when once upon a time, she would have given anything in the world to have him love her. She told me she was stupid for ever even bothering to care about him when it was obvious that he was incapable of returning a woman's feelings and it went on and on until finally I told her I was going to accept and she couldn't stop me."

The cafeteria was still relatively quiet, so Kei got up on wobbly knees and slowly walked out, desperately needing space. Without thinking, Satoru followed her.

"Natsuki thinks that this might be a bad time to say that she and Masumi are going to get married." Natsuki spoke up, causing everyone to stare at her.

The streets of 2006 Tokyo were somewhat unfamiliar to Kei and she hadn't gone far from the museum when Satoru caught her.

"Kei, wait." Satoru said. "Where are you going?"

"I need to find a karaoke place. When I'm upset, I sing." Kei said. "That's what I do. Do you know of any good places?"

"Well, it doubles as a sushi place, but I do know of one." Satoru said as he took Kei's arm and led her away from the museum and away from the mess she had accidentally caused.

Rin sighed as she walked back to her dorm room. She hated herself for saying the horrible things. She'd hurt Kei…badly. She'd never spat such venom before. What was wrong with her? Kei was her best friend and she didn't ask for this.

"Rin-chan?" Souta's voice floated to Rin and she turned around to find him before her. "Did you mean those things you said to Kei?"

Rin looked at her feet and then up at Souta. "No…I feel horrible for saying them. Kei's like family to me, but sometimes I wonder…even though I know it's not true. Kei had to fight to earn people's respect. I respect Kei-chan. She's a great leader and a good friend, but she…sometimes…I can't help but envy her! She has been having men surround her for years and yet, just like her mother, she's fixated on Akashi-sama! I wish I could be like her…sometimes."

Souta surrounded her with his arms and brushed her hair away from her face. "That's normal, to sometimes envy the people you like." He looked into her eyes. "Just don't let it consume you, ok?"

Rin knew that her jealousy would not consume her later, because her entire being was already being consumed…not by darkness or envy, but by love. She wasn't sure how she had come to love Souta after spending such a short time with him, but their chemistry seemed to ignite and it lit a fire in her that she didn't even know was there.

She looked into those beautiful eyes of Souta's and felt lost. All she could do was cling to him, stare into those eyes and then, lose herself to his warm, sweet kisses. She should be more careful. Souta Mogami had the tendency to be extremely addicting.

Meanwhile, Sakura was taking a long walk around the museum, admiring the engagement ring on her hand. Eiji must have saved up a small fortune to custom make her such a gorgeous ring. She couldn't believe that he'd asked her to marry him and that she'd said yes. Okay, maybe the last part she could believe. But still, marriage was a huge step, but she KNEW Eiji was committed to it, to her. What was keeping her from shouting this to the world was hearing Kei's tale of her and Chief in the future.

Had their relationship really gotten to the point where they hated one another? Was she really so cold to Chief when she was older? It boggled the mind, but yet…it made perfect sense. She actually could picture herself, probably scared after learning she was pregnant with Eiji's child, having the fight with Chief, who in his anger over her continued silence, became irrational. She could see how she would get upset over this. She was pregnant with a child that was partly Ashu and therefore had a chance of coming out looking entirely inhuman and the man she thought she could trust, her friend, her Chief, someone Sakura had once _loved _was upset because she had been quiet about her marriage and courtship to Eiji.

And Kei had been right. Sakura had only kept her mouth shut because she wanted to preserve her working relationship with Satoru. She didn't want him to think less of her because of what happened between her and Eiji. She loved Chief like a brother almost, but she loved Eiji more…and she was the only one who noticed his face while Kei was talking. He'd looked pale and shocked, almost as though he couldn't believe that the Chief and Sub-Chief would one day not speak. And it looked as though he felt guilty for being the cause of it all.

Could she really go through with marrying Eiji if it was going to cause so many problems later on?

She exhaled and put her head in her hands, unaware of her beloved Eiji's gaze burning into her back. She remained somewhat unaware of his presence until she felt one of his hands on her back, gently massaging it.

"Sakura…do you…. do you…. do…do you not want to go through with this?" Eiji didn't sound so confident anymore. "Because I will completely understand if you want to give me the ri-"

Her pressing her lips to his and giving him a passionate kiss cut him off.

"Oh." He said, once she let him go. "I see…well what do you want?"

"You to make love to me." Sakura murmured.

"Now?"

"Why not?"

Eiji wasn't about to turn down an opportunity to make love to Sakura and so he promptly scooped her up and carried her off to his bedroom. He made sure to lock the locks and leave their shoes outside.

Kando, meanwhile, was sitting calmly atop GouGou Fire, replaying the events in the cafeteria in his mind, his stomach sinking a little lower each time. He felt awful. "I shouldn't have done that to Rin-san." He muttered. "I must have really hurt her feelings."

"You did." Hikari's voice spoke up as she climbed atop to sit next to Kando. "I just saw nee-chan…she was crying in Souta's arms."

Kando snorted. "Stupid Souta-sensei."

"Kando-kun, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were jealous." Hikari teased. "Jealous of Souta-sensei!"

Kando shot up to a sitting position and looked at the beautiful Deep Adventurer. "I'm not jealous of him!"

"Yes, you are." Hikari murmured, leaning into him. "I know you, Kando Takaoka. I can tell that you love Rin and that seeing her with Souta and knowing that they made love last night must eat you up inside."

Kando glared at Hikari for a moment and then, before he knew it, he'd grabbed her around the waist, yanked her to him and kissed her deeply.

Hikari's eyes shot open but then, she embraced him, pulling him down to her, lost in the tide of emotion that swept her off her feet.

Meanwhile, the other pink and silver pair were having what could only be described as an intimate moment. "Now see..." Eiji began, lifting his head from its spot between Sakura's slender thighs. "…I thought you wouldn't want to go through with our wedding after hearing about what happens between you and Akashi. Although that would only reinforce the notion that you're obsessed with him, which…" He planted a kiss on her thigh. "…I think is total bull." He paused. "…you're not obsessed with him are you?"

Sakura gave him a hard look. "I was never obsessed with him." She said, resting her head against the pillows. "I did love him, yes…but then…" She smiled at the ceiling. "You scooped me up."

"Because Akashi can't see a good thing if it came up and bit it on the nose." Eiji muttered, before giving her a little wink and sliding down, so he could fit his head more perfectly between her legs.

"Eiji, what are you…. OH!" She smiled…"Oh, Takaoka-san…."

The karaoke place that Satoru knew of was a place called Tsunami. It was a small place that had lots of karaoke nights and boasted to be the place that had launched Ayumi Hamasaki's career. It was 2000 yen for a booth (per hour), and if you just wanted to hear people sing, you could hang out in the open mic room and listen. The place reminded Kei of the places she visited at home.

"It's nice." Kei said, as they entered. "It reminds me of Yori, the place I frequent at home."

"I didn't know you could sing." Satoru remarked.

"I can sing very well, actually." Kei replied. "Kando thinks I could be as big as Koda Kumi or Ayumi Hamasaki if I would just perform for a talent scout."

"Wow, then you must be good." Satoru murmured.

Kei smiled weakly and then noticed that no one was on stage at the moment. Apparently, they'd come just in time for open mic night. She smiled more widely and then told him to sit before picking out a song and getting up on stage.

The intro to Namie Amuro's "Wishing on The Same Star" began, a light piano, and then Kei, with more emotion and passion than Satoru had ever seen, began to sing the beautiful ballad.

Satoru stared, enraptured at the sound of her voice. He'd never heard something so beautiful. She really should be a singer. Apparently, judging by the way the audience was staring at her, they thought so, too and when she was finished, there was thunderous applause.

Kei was surprised. She knew she was good, but not THAT good. Her face turned pink and then changed when she saw that Satoru was standing and cheering for her, too. It warmed her heart and tugged her towards him a little. She cast him another shy glance and he beamed. He was coming towards the stage.

Kei's eyes widened. She hadn't used her Ashu technique, so he shouldn't be acting this way. And then, she realized that she must have done this song very well, for he looked entranced, but the fact that he wasn't sitting down, hypnotized told her that she wasn't.

Before she knew it, he'd rushed the stage and scooped her up in his arms, pressing a kiss to her shocked lips. She was surprised, but happy.

"Natsuki's getting married, Natsuki's getting married." Natsuki sang as she and Masumi came back from a bookshop with plenty of wedding books and magazines in hand. "Natsuki can't wait to get married!"

Masumi, who was carrying the bulk of her purchases, could only sigh and follow her. Leave it to Natsuki to buy stacks and stacks of stuff to plan a wedding. He wasn't even sure if he knew how he was going to pay for it all!

"Natsuki, don't you think you're taking this a bit too far?" He asked.

"Weddings are big, once in a lifetime events, Masumi!" Natsuki lectured. "And Natsuki wants hers to be super extra special!"

Masumi sighed. He already knew that his wedding day to her would be super extra special. He had Natsuki and that was all he really needed.

Natsuki twirled around and laughed. "Natsuki can't wait! She's going to be the best bride ever!"

Masumi smiled, reserving his silence. She looked so beautiful as she danced around, laughing. She certainly was going to make a beautiful bride that was for sure.

Satoshi grumbled as he headed outside of the SGS Museum. It had been Rin's idea to split up for the day and go find something to keep them occupied and he was BORED. 2006 had proved to be quieter than he expected, but it was the past. It was to be expected. Just as Satoshi looked up, he saw his father…with Kei! Apparently, they'd gone out to some karaoke place (Satoshi figured about as much, Kei always sang when something was bugging her) and they were laughing and talking.

Satoshi knew he shouldn't be jealous of his own father, but his father was going around with the woman Satoshi loved. And…they were kissing!

The Strong Adventurer's jaw dropped and his eyes grew so big they looked as thought they were going to fall right out of his head.

Kei looked like she was happy to be in Satoru's arms and Satoshi felt his heart plummet into his stomach. It was clear to him now. Kei Takaoka would never be his.

Disgusted and hurt, Satoshi turned and ran back into the museum.

"Did you just kiss me!?" Hikari exclaimed as Kando let go of her and proceeded to get off his mecha without breaking his neck.

"I'm sorry, it just happened." Kando spoke faster than he normally did and he avoided looking at Hikari as he talked. "I didn't mean it. It won't happen again."

"Oh no, don't be sorry." Hikari said as she came to stand next to him. "I liked it."

Kando's eyes widened. "You did?"

Hikari nodded and then, Kando saw the strong resemblance to her adorable mother. "I did." She said with a smile, before kissing him again. "And for the record, I like you, too."

Meanwhile, in Souta's bedroom, Rin lay next to Souta, who had dozed off peacefully and she sighed. She couldn't sleep. She kept thinking of the Precious that her mother had told her about a while ago, the Three Neck Dragon of Darkness. She remembered how hurt her mother sounded as she spoke of the Precious. She knew that it and Yami no Yaiba nearly destroyed her family. She wanted revenge.

And she wanted it now. She knew where to find this Precious. She would get it and safe keep it and Yaiba and Ryooun wouldn't get their hands on it. She could do it! She _would_ do it!

Kissing Souta's cheek and then, his lips, Rin slipped out of his bed, letting her hands linger on Souta's blue silk sheets. She threw on her clothing as quickly as she could and then snuck out of the museum, borrowing her father's GouGou Vehicle, Formula and heading to the old shrine.

From the sounds of things, the Precious was already activated because it was howling like crazy.'

Rin exited Formula and stood before the shrine. She narrowed her eyes as she ascended the steps and headed to the Precious. As she approached the howling seemed to get louder.

Hoping that this wouldn't end badly. Rin bowed respectfully and then reached for the shrine…. for the Precious.

Suddenly, a cold, yet oddly seductive voice stopped her.

"Well, well…since when has BoukenBlack been a girl?"

Rin gasped.


	8. The Princess of Darkness

Chapter Seven:

"The Princess of Darkness" (Part One of Three)

Author's Notes: This chapter pretty much spoils tasks 45-46 and it's an alternate take on one of my favorite story Arcs.

"Rin-chan?" Souta sat up in bed and was shocked to see that Rin was no longer in bed with him. In fact, she was nowhere to be seen. "Rin-chan, where are you?"

Grumbling to himself, he got up and put on his sleeping yukata and exited the room, wondering where she went.

An infuriated Kei immediately accosted him. "Rin's GONE! Where the hell is she, Souta-sensei? Where the hell is Rin!?"

"I woke up and she was gone!" Souta sputtered. "She must have left during the night or something. I wonder where she is."

"Kei-san, please stop hurting Souta-sensei!" Hikari cried, running up behind Kei. "I think I know where nee-chan went."

"Where did she go, Hikari-chan?" Souta asked.

"Right before we came here, Mama told her about a Precious that nearly destroyed Papa. She said that it had something to do with the darkness that was the reason why Yami no Yaiba let Papa live."

Kei let go of Souta and he slumped to the floor. She scrunched up her face at the younger Inou sister. "You mean the Three Neck Dragon of Darkness?"

"YES!" Hikari cried. "Nee-chan might have gone after it…to prevent this Yami no Yaiba person from getting his hands on the Precious."

"He's not exactly a person." Souta muttered.

"Hikari," Kei knelt before her young friend and looked right into her eyes. "I want you to be honest with me. Did Natsuki-sama ever tell you where the Precious is kept? Did she tell you where they found it?"

Hikari scrunched up her face for a moment and she cocked her head to one side. "Let me think…"

The diamond on Sakura's finger sparkled in the early morning sunshine and watching it caused her a massive amount of guilt. She shouldn't be guilty for being happy, but she was. She would have to go and tell Chief that she and Eiji were in love and getting married. She should probably do it now if she wanted to save their relationship.

"You know, you're thinking this over too much." Eiji mumbled sleepily as he rolled over to face her. "I don't see what the big deal is about telling Akashi. I'm sure he'll understand."

"You don't get it Eiji." Sakura murmured. "Satoru and I don't speak 25 years from now because I told him."

"You weren't listening to what Kei said, were you?" Eiji asked. "She said that you two stopped speaking when you told him you were with me after we got married and you became pregnant with Kei. He was hurt because this was a major part of your life and you just…kept it from him. I'd be hurt, too."

Sakura couldn't make herself speak, so she just lay there next to him for a moment, as he spooned her and kissed her neck. "Just tell him before I get you pregnant."

Meanwhile, back at the shrine, Rin found herself staring at an armored, vaguely human shaped creature covered with blue armor and slits in the eyes for him to see. He had a cold, oddly seductive voice and he watched her carefully. "You can't be BoukenBlack, you're a woman."

"Who were you expecting, Masumi Inou?" Rin said, standing up. "Well, you got his daughter, Belle Inou. And I'll be taking the Precious…Yami no Yaiba."

"You know who I am?" Yaiba was interested.

"I guessed…my father has told me plenty about you, including all that shit you fed him about the darkness within. You're obsessed."

"And you are just like your father." Yaiba replied, smugly, approaching Rin. "Only much more beautiful."

Rin backed away slowly, but then she remembered her mission and turned to grab the Precious.

Yaiba backed away. The girl was more amusing than her father.

The second Rin's hand touched the Precious, it activated and howled louder than ever, emitting a black cloud of smoke that surrounded Rin, causing her to scream as it was absorbed into her body. She fell to her knees, the Precious still in hand.

Yaiba laughed. "Seems the Three Neck Dragon of Darkness likes you. It seems that it will give its power to you. Well, I can't blame it. This is the power of darkness, the power your father passed on to you. You've both had it. You will always have it, Belle Inou."

"Power?" Rin murmured. "Power for me?"

"Yes, for you." Yaiba murmured, kneeling before Rin. He caressed her face, his touch making the Fast Adventurer shiver. "This is the birth of the darkness in your heart." It was hard for him to limit his caress to just her face.

Yami no Yaiba had to admit that Masumi had produced a lovely young woman. She looked a lot like him, only female and much more beautiful. She would make a fitting bride. And right now, she was starting at him with fear in her eyes, clutching the Precious to her body. "I will not let you have it!"

The Ninja of the Paper Crane knelt before Rin and forced her to look into his eyes before opening the plates that obscured his true face. He didn't use his power of hypnosis that often, preferring to show his face when he was about to kill something. But, since this girl could possibly prove to be harder to reel in than her father, well…it was high time he brought it out.

As it turned out, Hikari didn't remember where the original Boukengers had found the Three Neck Dragon of Darkness and so, they had to go to Makino-sensei for help.

As it turns out, Makino had something to tell both generations of Boukenger (by now, everyone had been alerted to Rin's vanishing act).

"GouGou Formula has apparently been stolen, Akashi-kun." Makino informed Satoru once the 11 adventurers were all in his workshop. "I looked in on the vehicles earlier this morning and Formula was missing."

"Rin probably took it." Kei muttered. "GouGou Crane is too noticeable for her to use and since I'm the only one who knows how to operate GouGou Voyager, GouGou Carrier is out of the question."

"Rin-san is missing?" Makino asked. "Hmmm…how odd."

"Yes, she might have left in the middle of the night and we really have no idea where she ran off to." Hikari sounded worried. "I hope nothing happened to her."

Kei exhaled. "We think she went after a Precious. Hikari doesn't know all the details, but she said that it almost destroyed her family, which is true. It nearly did. I bet Rin went after it in an attempt to stop it from happening."

"At least nee-chan isn't taking it out for a joyride." Hikari piped up, trying to be more helpful. "She's not careless."

"Do you know what this Precious was called?" Makino asked Kei.

Kei looked thoughtful. "You know, if I remember correctly, it's called the Three Neck Dragon of Darkness. I think my mother told me this story a little while ago."

Makino's eyes widened. "Interesting…I think that Precious just came under our radar."

Kei and Kando's eyes widened at this and Kando looked at Hikari. "Hika-chan, do you remember if your mother ever told you about what happened with your father, Yami no Yaiba and the Three Neck Dragon of Darkness?" he asked. "Nee-chan and I had to force details out of our mother."

"Not really, but I remember what Mama said about Papa's behavior. She said that he suddenly became moody and irritable. He was mean to Akashi-sama and challenged him to some sort of duel…she was surprised because Papa was even a little mean to her. You know, now that I think about it, it sounded like what happened between you and nee-chan yesterday, Kei-san."

"It certainly sounds like it." Kei muttered.

"Wait…how do you guys know about Yami no Yaiba?" Satoru asked Kei.

"You guys tell us stories all the time." Satoshi said, not looking at Kei. His tone had a kick of attitude to it. "How could we NOT know?"

"Satoshi, that's uncalled for." Kei said, sharply. "You shouldn't talk to your father that way."

"You shouldn't be playing tonsil hockey with my father, either." Satoshi snapped.

Kei's eyes widened. "SATOSHI!" She balled up her fists. "Satoshi Akashi, that…"

"I saw you with him!" Satoshi cried, pointing at Kei. "I saw you two together! You were kissing! What, having Tsubasa and me wrapped around your fingers and stringing us along wasn't enough for you, Kei-san? So, you had to be as hopeless as your mother and go after my father, too, is that it? You're just like Sakura-sama! Hopeless and sad!"

To Kei's credit, she didn't turn Ashu like she normally did when she was angry. Instead, she slapped Satoshi across the face. "My mother loved Satoru with all she had! It's not her fault he didn't see until it was too late! I don't blame her for loving him! And HOW DARE you call my mother HOPELESS!" She bit her lip and glared at the younger Strong Adventurer, but then her face softened. "Wait a second…. you LIKED me?"

Hikari's face fell at Satoshi's words. She'd been right. Satoshi had preferred the beautiful Fiery Adventurer to her.

"Please stop this fighting." Natsuki said, stepping in between Kei and Satoshi. "This won't help Makino-san find my daughter!"

Kei looked hurt and angry and any number of things, but she didn't direct her anger at the gentle Natsuki, who only wanted the fighting to stop.

"I remember that Mama said it was at some sort of shrine, Makino-sensei." Hikari spoke up, the hurt coming into her voice at Satoshi's revelation. "Does that help?"

"Yes, Hikari, thank you." Makino began tapping into his computer.

More of the black smoke had been released from the Precious and it had entered Rin's body, overwhelming her and causing her to fall forward to the ground.

Yaiba made sure to hover over her, making their eyes lock. "A daughter of darkness…I bet you anything that Masumi Inou didn't expect this to come from Little Miss Yellow's loins. And I certainly didn't expect his daughter to be so lovely."

Rin was intrigued, but scared. Yami no Yaiba's eyes had a weird yellowish glow to them that was downright intoxicating and she felt herself drift, unable to really move or speak because of the weird smoke cloud that had her feeling dizzy, weak and sick, but powerful. She could feel power coursing through her veins. Now if only she could use it…

"You are more like Masumi than you realize, Belle." Yaiba purred. "Just like I saw darkness in him, I see it in you. Only, your darkness is much stronger than his…and for me, that makes you all more appealing."

Rin's breathing began to quicken and her chest rose and fell rapidly, the fear in her rising and intensifying as Yaiba's hands slowly made their way up her sides.

"You…you're not happy as a Boukenger, are you, Belle?" Yaiba murmured. "Things aren't going well?"

"You mean am I happy being Kei Takaoka's second in command, her sub-chief?" Rin asked, her voice soft. "I was…until it became clear to me that she was just like her mother…a suck up to Akashi-sama. Kei's my best friend and she's wonderful…she's even saved my life a few times, but…"

"You want to be taken seriously and not just as her sub-chief, right?" Yaiba's purring became lower, colder, more shiver inducing and it sent tingles of arousal through her spine.

"No one takes me seriously because I'm Rin Inou, Masumi and Natsuki Inou's daughter, the second in rank…and the daughter of the moodiest Boukenger to ever walk the planet. Everyone thinks I'm just like my father! I'm not! I'm not him!"

_You're proving yourself wrong right now, little Rin._ Yaiba thought. "Oh? You're here, aren't you? Securing the Precious? Surrendering to your darkness? You follow the same path I wanted your father to take. He amused me, but you, well…I plan to have more fun with you now that I've found you."

Rin shivered, but her body refused to move away from Yaiba. She seemed trapped in his gaze.

"Nee-chan, are you going to be all right?" Kando asked as he watched his sister pace around Makino's workshop. "You seem pretty shook up."

"My best friend has vanished, Satoshi just called me out and my life is falling apart. And we still haven't been able to figure out how the hell we're going to find Dad." Kei groaned. "I don't believe this!" She put her head in her hands. "I drove Rin to this. This…it's my fault!"

Kando knelt before his elder sister and sighed. "Nee-chan, this was not your fault. Rin made her choice and as far as I'm concerned she went after this Precious in an attempt to save her family. It's something I would do, something you would do!" He sighed. "As for you and Akashi-sama…"

"Kando don't lecture me on this, please. I don't need it."

"All I was going to say was that I want you to be happy, nee-chan." Kando said.

Kei looked at her little brother. "What?"

"I want you to be happy, nee-chan." Kando repeated. "And if Akashi-sama makes you happy, then…well…that's your thing."

Kei smiled. "Thank you, Kando." She smiled and hugged her brother, just as Makino finished typing.

"I think I've found the shrine where the Precious is kept." He said. "…and I think I found Rin."

Suddenly, Hikari burst into the room. "You found my nee-chan? Where is she?!"

Rin wasn't entirely sure when she'd taken off her SGS jacket, but Yaiba was now caressing her bare arms and purring words to her. He was telling her things…they sounded true.

"You know…I don't think Kei really cares about you." Yaiba murmured. "If she did, she would have come out here and stopped you. She would have tried to keep you from falling to the darkness. But see, she's not here now."

At the mention of Kei, Rin's eyes, now glazed over somewhat, narrowed. "No…she's too busy being Akashi's lapdog."

"Oh?" Yaiba murmured.

"Yeah, she's such a hypocrite." Kei muttered. "I allowed Souta to take me out and show me a good time and then we came back to the SGS Museum and well…we made love. When Kei found out, she was furious. And then to find out that she's been with Akashi-sama?! I was furious! I saw them together once, acting all chummy. I wanted to scream!"

"You know, you now have the power to defeat her." The Ninja of the Paper Crane murmured. "You can take her down a notch. You can do that."

"I can take Kei down a notch…" Rin murmured back. Her grip on the Precious tightened and more of the black smoke flowed into her body. Her eyes dilated and closed for a moment, and Yaiba's brainwashing began to take effect.

Her eyes were completely black when she opened them again. "Will you show me?"

"I will show you everything you need to know." Yaiba's purr was so seductive and hypnotic that he could have told Rin to jump off Mount Fuji and she would have done it. "I will teach you, Inou Rin."

A wicked smile slowly spread across Rin's face. "Show me, Yami no Yaiba…teach me."

If Yaiba could smile, he would have at that point. Rin Inou was as good as his. "I will…Inou Rin." He pressed his face down and let her kiss him with everything she had.

"That's right, Inou Rin…" Yaiba murmured. "Give into your inner darkness." He pulled out a sutra that he had injected some of his life essence and power into and stuck it into Rin's body where it was absorbed quickly.

Rin broke the kiss and screamed, before finally passing out. Yaiba chuckled. "And now…you're _mine._"

Makino looked like he was going to puke. Kei looked so pale that she barely looked human. Kando looked horrified. Natsuki was quietly crying. Masumi had balled up his fists. Souta had passed out. Satoru couldn't make himself look. Sakura's hand was covering her mouth. Eiji's jaw seemed to have dropped to the floor. Satoshi was actually quiet, his face a mask of shock. Tsubasa looked disgusted. And Hikari, who was leaning onto Kando for support was crying as they watched Yami no Yaiba scoop up the unconscious Rin and the Precious and walk off, laughing.

"Nee-chan…." Hikari murmured, before her voice became a scream. "NEE-CHAN! NO!"


	9. Yami no Shizuka

Chapter Eight;

"Yami no Shizuka" (Part Two of Four)

When Rin awoke, she was lying on her back somewhere. She wasn't sure where. From the sounds of things, she must have been in a secluded home in the mountains. She felt dizzy and almost sick, but she felt strong inside. Was this the darkness Yami no Yaiba spoke of?

"Good morning, Yami no Shizuka." Yaiba's voice floated to her as a door slid open to reveal Yami no Yaiba. "I hope you're well rested."

Rin was confused. "Yami no Shizuka?"

"Yes, that's your name now." Yaiba said as he came into the darkened bedroom, lit only by a few candles. "I thought you'd want to sever all ties with the Boukenger, so I gave you a new name: Yami no Shizuka…. the silence of darkness."

"Yami no Shizuka?" Rin repeated to herself. "I like it."

"However…" Yaiba murmured as he knelt before Rin and touched her face. "I think I'll be calling you Rin when it's just us. I like the way your name sounds. " She made him want to have a human body again. His hands trailed down past her chest and stomach, before finally coming to rest on her thighs. He opened his faceplate again.

Rin wasted no time in pressing her mouth to whatever it was that Yaiba had that resembled a mouth, her hands running across his blue armor. He chuckled. She was good and his that was for sure. The sutra's power, combined with the darkness in her heart had worked very effectively. She was eternally devoted to him and he intended to make the most out of their partnership.

He released her from his embrace and let her lay back down. "I will give you time to rest, Yami no Shizuka." He said. "The power of darkness needs time to grow before I can let you exact revenge on Kei. I want it to be much more refined when you go after her and the other Boukenger." With those words, he got up to leave, but he was stopped by Rin's voice.

"Stay with me, Yami no Yaiba." She murmured.

Yaiba chuckled. Such a willing little thing. BoukenBlue must not satisfy her. He'd show her.

If Kando ever had the chance, he was going to slaughter Yaiba for doing this to his nee-chan. "Nee-chan!" he cried, pounding on the door. "Open the door!"

"Go away, Kando!" Kei screamed, sobbing something that sounded like "It's all my fault!"

"Nee-chan, this was not your fault! Yaiba brainwashed her! He took advantage of her! She made a choice to go after the Precious! You didn't drive her to this!"

Kei wept and Kando sighed before punching the door and nearly breaking his hand. "Damn Yami no Yaiba! If I ever get my hands on him…"

"You wouldn't be able to defeat him." Eiji's voice floated to his son. "Yaiba is powerful and his attacks are incredibly strong. You'd die before you even get a hit in."

"Yaiba's reduced my nee-chan to tears and my new girlfriend to a recluse. I want to make him suffer."

"He'll make _you_ suffer." Eiji said, coming into his son's line of vision. "Kando, I know how much Kei and Hikari mean to you. But I can't just stand by and watch my son go on a suicide mission. You need to stay here so the rest of us can come up with a plan to destroy him. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, Dad." Kando murmured, looking at Kei's door. His heart sank. He felt helpless. His big sister was in more pain than he could possibly imagine and he felt helpless.

"Kando…" Eiji placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "…come on."

Reluctantly, Kando let himself be led way by Eiji, casting a glance at the door as he left.

Hikari had curled up into a ball on her bed when she heard Kando come into the room. "You left your door open." Kando murmured.

"How could nee-chan do this?" Hikari whimpered. "How could she betray us like that?"

"I'm betting that Yaiba brainwashed her." Kando said. "I noticed that he sank a sutra into her body that knocked her out. Before he was murmuring things to draw her into a trance and leave her open to suggestion. Yaiba preyed on the darkness that she inherited from her father, so I don't quite believe that she fully turned on us. Yami no Yaiba used her."

"If she inherited it from Papa, doesn't that mean that I inherited it, too?" Hikari said. "If so, I can be used as bait to trap Yaiba! I can go out there and draw him out…"

"Absolutely not." Kando said, running his hands along Hikari's back to calm her. "You know your father won't let you. It's too dangerous. You could get hurt…besides there's no darkness in you. It seems to have all gone to Rin-san."

Hikari looked at him, her eyes red from crying. "Kando…"

"Don't worry, Hika-chan." Kando murmured. "We'll bring Rin-san home."

Rin wasn't sure if Yaiba was human or monster, but whatever he was, he was a good lover. She'd never felt such pleasure. Their lips rarely touched, but his hands caressed her smooth skin and she felt something push into her and she cried, softly.

Yaiba took a moment to press another Sutra inside her body, one to reinforce the work the other one did and he continued to work on her, surprised by her passion and her energy.

If Yaiba ever regretted his decision to sell his human body for the armored one he currently possessed, it was now. He wished he could feel her more, but currently, he could feel her just fine. Her skin was warm and soft, her kisses sweet, her devotion unyielding.

Gekkou himself couldn't have done a better job. He was pleased as he moved away and Rin shivered.

"Yaiba…" she murmured.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "Did I hurt you?"

Rin shook her head. "No, never. You could never hurt me."

Yaiba chuckled. "That reminds me…I have something for you." He handed her a black and dark blue bundle of clothing. "Something to replace the SGS rags you used to wear."

Rin, making sure to keep the blanket around her body, took the bundle from him and let the blanket drop. "This is for me?"

"Of course…you're not going to go around dressed as a Boukenger since you left them, right?"

Rin stood up and let Yaiba glaze on her, as she got dressed.

"Lovely." He murmured as he watched, his eyes roaming over her lithe form, toned from training as a Boukenger.

The outfit consisted of blue and black form-fitting clothing, mostly of a tunic, a mesh shirt, and a part of form fitting leggings and dark navy boots.

She sighed and ruffled her hair as she picked up her Accellular. "I want to throw this in Kei's face as she dies." She said. "She used this to enslave me as her lapdog. I want to smash it in her face and tell her that I want nothing to do with her and her Ashu ass."

"She's Ashu?" Yaiba asked.

"One fourth Ashu." Rin muttered. "She looks almost human, but her hair is white…just like her demon freak father…. what with his mood swings and shit. You know…. he's actually the reason I'm here. Kei became so damn desperate to find him that she tossed us all into a wormhole and landed us here. Leave it to her and her crazy mother to make family politics a Boukenger's mission."

Yaiba was mildly amused at her rants, but he knew better than to say anything. Rin needed to get this out.

"I didn't do this because I wanted to spend my time listening to Kei worry and prattle and to have her brother hit on me! I did this because I wanted to, and even then…"

"It was an empty existence, Yami no Shizuka." Yaiba murmured, rising from his position and moving to embrace her around the waist. "You won't have one with me."

Rin smiled. "Do you have a plan, Yami no Yaiba?"

"I was hoping you have one."

Rin smiled. "I know just the thing."

The next thing Satoshi knew, Kando's fist had connected with his face and the punch was so hard that it sent him backwards into the wall.

"How could you do that to my nee-chan!?" Kando yelled. "I thought you were in love with her!"

"She was kissing my father!"

"Because he makes her happy!" Kando yelled. "You remember how she was when Kai died? She was devastated! She wanted someone to make her happy! And none of us counted because she could lose us, any of us at any given moment and the pain would come. So she tried to find someone OUTSIDE of SGS. So, she found your father, big deal! She's happy!" Kando paused and sighed. "My big sister is happy and considering what she's been through, I think she deserves it!"

"Your sister is just as cold hearted and selfish as your mother is." Satoshi spat, wiping the blood from his nose away. "She never cares for someone."

The words were met with another slap.

"Satoshi Akashi, you LIAR!" Kando yelled. "My sister would give her life for someone she loved. You KNOW she cares about us. This is just your jealousy talking! Need I remind you that YOUR FATHER went to my sister to ask her to take his place? He went to HER!"

Satoshi snorted. "Because he's trying to win back your mother's favor."

"SHUT UP, AKASHi!" Kando thundered and dove for the younger man, only to be stopped by the sudden appearance of Hikari.

"Kando-kun!" She cried.

Kando paused. "Hika-chan…"

"Kando, please…don't do this." She looked really upset.

Kando let go of Satoshi. "This is why I like your father more than you. He's not arrogant."

"Is there a problem in here?" Tsubasa asked, coming into the salon. "What happened?"

"I was sticking it to Satoshi." Kando muttered. "He made nee-chan look bad. My nee-chan would do anything and everything to make people happy…to make us happy. She would lay down her life for us and he's making her look like a whore! After everything she's been through! So, nee-chan's fallen in love again? What's the big deal? That the two of you are in love with her? God, you're both worse than Mother." Kando turned and went to leave the room with Hikari, but he paused and looked back at Satoshi and Tsubasa. "If you two really cared about nee-chan, you'd be happy that she was happy."

Tsubasa pulled his face into an uncharacteristically straight look. "Kando, I don't know where you get off…." 

"I'm her brother." Kando snapped. "I have the right!" He paused. "And maybe, instead of wasting your time fighting about her dating Akashi-sama, you should be looking for Hika-chan's nee-chan. God knows what that Yami no Yaiba's done with her. She could be pregnant with demon spawn or something!"

Hikari whimpered and sniffled, burying her face into Kando's chest. "Kando-kun…"

"It's all right, Hika-chan." Kando embraced her tightly, affixing the High-Up Adventurer and the Strong Adventurer with deadly glares.

"And who died and made you Chief?" Tsubasa snapped.

"Nee-chan." Kando said. "She made me Chief. Now, get to looking for Rin-san!"

Kei sighed as she stood outside the door of Satoru's room. Her heart felt as though it had been forcibly ripped out of her chest. She needed comfort. She just wanted to spend an hour in Satoru's arms and the idea of his comforting warmth made her heart fill up a little as she knocked on the door.

Satoru, dressed in his usual black cargos and black t-shirt answered the door. "Kei."

"Satoru-san." Kei murmured, her eyes still wet with tears.

"Are you all right, Kei?" he asked.

She shook her head and buried herself his chest, sniffling and crying. Satoru was surprised, but he pressed her closer to him. She wasn't all right. She was lost in time, confused and hurt and quickly losing hope.

"It's all right, Kei." Satoru murmured. "It's all right."

She looked up at him and he brushed her tears away, before gently kissing the corner of her eyes. She looked vulnerable, but beautiful and he couldn't help but kiss her deeply, wrapping his arms around her body, slender like her mother's, but strong like her father's.

Satoru smiled and gently tugged Kei inside his room, knowing she was in desperate need of a distraction. "It's all right…" He murmured into her ear. "It'll be all right."

Kei let herself be pulled and the door slid shut behind them.

"Oh…Chief…" 

"Souta-kun, you have to eat something." Sakura said, placing a bowl of udon noodles in front of Souta. "Worrying about Rin isn't going to help and starving yourself doesn't help either. I'm sure Yami no Yaiba isn't going to do anything to her."

"You don't know that." Souta muttered, picking up his chopsticks and eating slowly. "Yaiba's clever."

"Not to mention powerful." Masumi muttered, picking peas out of his fried rice. "He could have killed her already."

"Masumi, don't say such things!" Natsuki murmured. "Yami no Yaiba won't kill Rin. Natsuki thinks he wants her for something else."

"Natsuki's right." Eiji said as he swallowed a mouthful of chicken vegetable ramen. "If Yami no Yaiba wanted to kill Rin, he'd have done it right away. He wouldn't have bothered to brainwash her and take her with him."

"What could he want with my Rin?" Natsuki asked, sounding very much like a mother. "He's not going to hurt her, is she?"

The room fell into silence at those words, a silence that was broken by the sound of Kando's voice coming through Eiji's GoGo Changer.

"Dad, we lost Rin-san's Accellular signal. We think either it was turned off or destroyed." Kando sounded professional. "Judging by the brainwashing whammy Yaiba laid into Rin-san, which was powered by her own resentment, I think it's a safe bet that she destroyed it."

"Her resentment?" Eiji asked.

"Rin-san sometimes resents nee-chan. Their friendship has not always been harmonious. Judging by the way Rin spoke about nee-chan, it's been buried under a long time."

"Where was her last known location, Kando?"

"Somewhere in the mountains." Kando replied. "We're not sure where, there's stuff interrupting the feed, but Makino-sensei's working on it."

"And who made you Chief?" Natsuki gently teased. "You sound the part."

"Nee-chan did. Since her sub-chief's betrayed her and she's in no shape to fight, nee-chan made me Chief."

"Something that never should have happened!" Tsubasa yelled in the background.

"Maybe if you didn't prove to be as annoying as your mother..." Kando started.

"Hey, knock it off!" Eiji yelled.

Sakura took Eiji's wrist from him and said, calmly. "Tomorrow, we'll go look in that location and see if we find anything, okay,"

"Yes, Mom." Kando said.

"Suck up!" Satoshi shouted.

"Go to hell, Akashi!" Kando shouted back and an argument ensued.

Eiji sighed. "I have to stop my son, excuse me." He groaned and got up from the table, running to Makino's workshop.

"The boys don't seem to get along very well, do they?" Natsuki asked.

"They seem to have a lot of friction." Sakura murmured. "Apparently, Rin's vanishing and capture brought some resentment out and everyone's going crazy."

Hours, later, Satoshi nursing a fat lip and Kando a black eye, the Boukenger retired to bed.

Early the next morning, Kei awoke in Satoru's arms and she planted a kiss to his cheek before slipping out of bed and then hearing her Accellular ring.

"This is Kei." She murmured, trying not to wake Satoru.

"Hello, Kei-chan." It was Rin's voice, but it was cold and taunting. "Do you know who this is?"

"Rin!"

"No, no, my name is Yami no Shizuka now. I refuse to go back to that empty existence with you and the other Boukengers. However, as a parting gift, I issue you a challenge. You come out to the cliffs of the dark coast and defeat me and Yami no Yaiba and I will tell you where your father is hiding."

The color drained out of Kei's face. "You…"

"Come as quickly as you can, Kei-chan. Don't keep us waiting." There was a click and Rin was gone.

Kei looked at the sleeping Satoru, wishing she could spend time in his warm arms, but remembering her original mission, she dressed quickly and took Dump out to where she knew Rin was.

Rin, no, Yami no Shizuka was waiting for her.

"So…you came." Rin said, mockingly. "Just as I thought."

"Where's my father, Rin?" Kei asked. "That's the only reason I came out here. Where his he?"

Rin began to laugh and Kei got the distinct impression she'd walked straight into a trap.

"Damn." She muttered as Rin kept laughing,

"Prepare to die here, Takaoka Kei." Rin crowed. "And I'd kill you myself if I had the training, but since I don't…my lover is going to kill you instead."

Kei whirled around to see Yami no Yaiba walk behind her and open his faceplate to reveal his true face.

"How could you…" Kei asked, softly. "How could you do this Rin?"

"How COULDN'T I?" Rin crowed. "I'm not going to be your quiet little sub-chief any longer. You can't use me anymore, Kei! Not if you're dead!"

Kei's heart was all but shattered. "You!" She pointed at Yami no Yaiba. "What lies have you fed her?"

"The truth." Yaiba murmured, giving Rin enough time to punch Kei and send her flying backwards.

"This is the power of darkness, the power that I've chosen, the path I've chosen! You can't stop me now!"

Kei whimpered in pain as she fought to get up and Yaiba moved before Kei, spreading his arms open.

The Fiery adventurer's eyes widened with fright.

"Shadow Nipou!" He yelled and Kei shut her eyes in preparation for death, her heart shattering at the thought of Rin's betrayal. "A Thousand Paper Crane Darkness Blizzard!"

The paper cranes came at Kei so fast she didn't have a chance to use her Accellular to transform and before she knew it, she hit the ground, too weak to move and half-dead.

Rin laughed and tossed her broken Accellular at Kei's bloody face. "Good bye, Takaoka Kei…Good bye, SGS." With that, she and Yaiba turned and left Kei there, vanishing as though they were never there.

"Rin…no…" Kei moaned, before collapsing from the pain.

If someone had told the now 50-year-old Eiji Takaoka that he would one day bear witness to Rin Inou betraying his eldest daughter, he would have laughed. But now from his perch above the cliff, he watched in horror as Rin was attacked by Rin and Yaiba and then left her to die.

No self-respecting parent would let his or her children lie there and die, so Eiji swept down and scooped up his daughter. "Kei…" he murmured, brushing her hair our of her face. "Please wake up." He murmured.

"Dad…." Kei moaned sleepily. "Dad…you're alive."

"It's all right, Kei." Eiji murmured, carrying his daughter away, making sure to take the broken Accellular with him. "I'm going to save you. It'll be okay."

"Mother's so worried about you." Kei murmured. "I'm so glad…now that I've found you, I can go home."

"I can't leave just yet and neither can you. You don't want to leave Rin in the embrace of Yami no Yaiba, do you?"

"You saw her. She despises me now." Kei sounded like she was going to cry. "She chose this path."

Eiji sighed as he carried his daughter to GouGou Dump. "Everything will turn out, Kei." He murmured as he placed his daughter next to the large mecha. "I'll come back when I'm finished. Don't you worry, okay?"

"Papa…" Kei murmured, clutching his sleeve.

Eiji smiled sadly. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

She whimpered. "Don't leave me here to die."

"I won't. I Promise." He took a moment to press the emergency button on her Accellular. "They'll be here to rescue you."

"Dad…"

"Beware of Ouga, Kei…beware of Ouga." And with that, Eiji left as quickly as he'd appeared.

Kei, unable to think clearly because of the pain, then passed out, barely missing the sound of her brother shouting "Nee-chan! Nee-chan!"


	10. The Passion of the Chief

Chapter Nine:

The Passion of the Chief (Part Three of Five)

Author's Notes: If you haven't seen the Boukenger finale, I suggest you stop what you're doing and go watch it. Why? Because during the finale, we learn the true identity of mister voice and his true identity is going to make an appearance in this chapter. You've been warned.

Kei lay in the hospital bed, so drugged up that she could not move very much and she would mumble incoherent words and names, mostly about Rin and Yami no Yaiba. Kando, ever the dedicated younger sibling, sat by her bedside, hoping to see her wake up.

She was like that for two days and on the evening of the second day, Kei's eyes opened slightly and she murmured, "Kando…"

"I'm right here, nee-chan." Kando clutched her hand. "What is it?"

"Ouga…"Kei murmured. "Beware of…Ouga!"

"Ouga?" Kando asked.

"Yes…beware of Ouga!" Her strength seemed to have given out then and she fell back against the pillows, the drugs taking over.

_Ouga…_ Where had Kando heard that name before? He searched his memory and then remembered his father's tale of the fall of the Quester.

Ouga was the Ashu who almost murdered his father by trapping him in an illusion and nearly killing him there. The Ashu who knew their grandmother…

_The Ashu whose presence he and Kei had sensed in the tomb of the Ashu of the North!_

In two seconds, everything clicked in Kando's brain. Ouga had pushed Eiji into the wormhole, and then activated the Precious so the Boukengers would come to the tomb and fall into the wormhole. He'd followed them here! To kill them!

_Well,_ Kando thought as he sank into the chair._If Ouga doesn't kill us, then Rin-san will as Yami no Shizuka. _He sighed. _How in the world are we going to fix this mess and bring Rin-san back to her senses?"_

_One Month Later…._

Yaiba's training had made Rin more powerful than ever and she moved through her exercises skillfully as though she'd been a Shinobi for years. Clashing with him came easier now and their sparring moved fluidly as she wielded a naginata similar to his own.

"Beautiful." Yaiba remarked as Rin clashed with him. "Yami no Shizuka, you've come a long way in just a month."

"I've gotten a lot off my chest in just a month, Yaiba." Rin said as she blocked him. "I feel stronger now that nothing's holding me back."

Yaiba was pleased. The combination of the Precious' power, her own resentment and his brainwashing sutras had given him a very devoted disciple…and the only thing in the world that he could think of that made him want to be human again.

Suddenly, she performed a fake out and pinned Yaiba down to the floor with her weapon, a dark joy glittering in her eyes. "And when I say nothing, I mean nothing."

"Very good, Yami no Shizuka." He said as she let him up. "Do the unexpected."

"Unleash the darkness within." She purred, "For the darkness will give you power beyond anything you might experience."

"You've been paying attention." Yaiba murmured. "That is good. My teaching will help you defeat the Boukenger."

"I've already defeated Kei emotionally." Rin boasted. "Killing her will be a snap as will killing the rest of those SGS dogs. They are all dead to me all dead to me so killing them will be no trouble!" She stuck the naginata into the floor and smiled. "Even my parents…they are dead to me."

"That's right…. they are all dead to you." Yaiba said. "Your existence with them was empty and pointless. Once I bring darkness to the world, your existence with me will be anything but empty." His embrace was hot and he caressed her bare arms.

Rin chuckled as she turned to face him. "I know…I can hardly wait."

He opened his faceplate again and kissed her deeply, pressing their bodies together as he pulled the beautiful young Shinobi in training to him. "Your power impresses me." He purred. "Show me more of it."

Rin giggled and pulled away, slowly making her way to the bedroom. "I will…Yami no Yaiba." She purred. "Are you coming?"

Yaiba chuckled as he followed her. She was high on her own power and he loved it.

Kei's eyes opened slowly and they widened with pain and she groaned. "Rin…"

"Nee-chan!" Kando took her hand and squeezed it. "Nee-chan, are you all right?"

"Kando…" Kei coughed. "...water, please…"

Kando wasted no time in getting his older sister some water. "Here…"

She took the water, and drank it, struggling to sit up. "How long…"

"A month. " Kando replied. "Yami no Shizuka and Yami no Yaiba did a number on you. How are you feeling?"

"Sore." Kei moaned. "Where's Rin? Have you found her?"

Kando sighed and pointed to the bed next to Kei, which held the injured Hikari. "Yami no Shizuka, as she prefers to be called, decided that we are all dead to her and took her anger out on Hika-chan."

Kei raised an eyebrow. "Hika-chan? Kando…are you in love with Hikari?"

"Yes." He exhaled. "I think I am. Anyway, in the last month, Yami no Shizuka has received a lot of ninja training and she's become very powerful and so…"

"She's been kicking some ass?"

"Yeah." Kando sighed. "What did 'Beware of Ouga' mean, nee-chan?"

Kei gasped and coughed and then she said. "That's what Dad said."

"Dad? You saw DAD?!"

Kei nodded. "He's here. Ouga must be after him. We must get to Ouga before Ouga gets to Dad!"

"Nee-chan, you're in no shape to go fight." Kando said. "You need rest."

"I've been resting for a month! I need to get out of this bed!"

"And into Akashi-sama's?" Kando teased.

Kei laughed and her eyes widened as suddenly, a huge bouquet of red roses came into her room. "Wow…"

"It's good to see you awake, Kei." Satoru's voice warm and soft floated to Kei

"Satoru-san!" Kei murmured.

Satoru looked genuinely pleased to see Kei awake. "You look well. How are you feeling?"

Kei sighed, wondering if things would have been different if she'd stayed and spent the morning wrapped in Satoru's arms instead of going to see Rin and nearly getting killed. She wondered what had gone through Satoru's head when he woke up and found her gone and then found her next to GouGou Dump, badly injured. "Sore and betrayed. Rin was my best friend. We have been friends since we were BABIES! How could she do this to me, to us? When you asked me to be a Boukenger, you told me that her voice was the loudest when you said that the others wouldn't be Boukenger unless I was Chief. And now, she turns around and just…leaves. What lies did Yaiba feed her?!"

"Nee-chan, it's not worth getting upset over. We'll break this brainwashing thing." Kando asked. "We'll bring Rin-san home. For now, you need to rest."

"And how could she turn on her own little sister?" Kei's hands became fists. "When we first started, she was always worried about Hikari's safety. Always. And now, for her to do this? Hikari's really small and she's not a very good fighter. It must not have taken her much to knock her out."

"It didn't." Kando muttered. "One good whack to the head…. from behind."

"Kei." Satoru said. "Please stop doing this to yourself. You didn't drive Rin to this point. She made a choice."

"To try and save her family." Kei said. "But Yaiba got to her." She sighed. "I don't believe this." She then looked at Kando. "Kando…how did you get a black eye?"

Kando looked at her funny and then remembered that he was sporting a relatively fresh black eye. "Oh this? A fight with Satoshi."

"Again?" Satoru asked.

"What do you mean again?" Kei fixed her brother with a hard look. "Kando Takaoka, how many times have I told you not to fight with Satoshi Akashi?"

"He started it." Kando muttered. "He's been riding me about taking up the Chief mantle since the Sub-Chief defected and the real Chief was falling apart. He says I'm too young to lead and so I tell him that that was the exact same reason why his father didn't make him BoukenRed. So, he decked me."

Kei groaned.

"And Tsubasa's no better!" Kando added. "Those two are trying to drive me crazy when I'm trying to hold it together despite the fact that my nee-chan's in the hospital and my girlfriend's in the next bed over!"

"You guys are falling apart." Satoru commented.

"You don't know the half of it." Kei muttered. "Remind me to deck Tsubasa when I see him next."

"I hear our daughter's awake." Eiji said. "Would you like to go see her?"

Sakura blushed at the mention of Kei as "their daughter". "I hear she's in a bad way. Maybe we should wait to see her. Besides, Kando is with her." She moaned as Eiji hit a particularly tense muscle in her foot, pausing in her paperwork. "I'm sure no one knows her as well as he does."

Eiji sighed as he massaged Sakura's feet. "I'm worried."

"About what?"

"The warning Kei told Kando. 'Beware of Ouga'. If it means what I think it means, then I have to find the Precious that revived him and destroy it and then destroy him…again. All while avoiding myself at 50. A real walk in the park."

"I'll help you find that Precious." Sakura said. "I'm sure that Chief won't mind. After all…" She held up the ring on her left hand. "…I'm going to be your wife."

Eiji smiled and leaned towards his beautiful bride to be. "I would like that." He paused. "Have you told him yet?"

Sakura sighed. Satoru had been so busy running around taking care of Kei and making sure the next gen Boukengers, now down to Tsubasa Mogami, Satoshi Akashi & Kando Takaoka, could handle themselves (the constant infighting, fueled by the apparent resentment between the three, proved otherwise) that she hadn't had five minutes alone with him to tell him the news. "No."

"Sakura…"

"He's been busy. You KNOW he's been busy."

"Sakura, I won't wait forever."

Rin awoke to the sounds of movement outside her bedroom and almost instinctively, she picked up the naginata that she kept next to her bed and swung it. Surprisingly, it hit something…the other Shizuka.

"Kaze no Shizuka." Rin crowed. "I wondered when you'd show up."

"Where's Yaiba?" Kaze no Shizuka asked.

"Like I'm going to tell you." Rin twirled the naginata and moved to strike her with it.

The two Shizukas clashed in the darkness, Yami no Shizuka clearly winning out over Kaze no Shizuka, until Kaze faked out and Yami was pinned on her back.

"All that awaits traitors is death!" Kaze no Shizuka announced.

"Oh, go to hell, you little whore." Yami no Shizuka snapped, shoving the smaller girl backwards She jumped up, her body responding to the training and managed to knock Kaze out with the naginata and dragged her outside. Coldly, Yami no Shizuka dumped Kaze no Shizuka near a river and hoped for rain.

Souta couldn't sleep. He could hear Kando and Tsubasa having another fight down the hall and he hurt from fighting Yami no Shizuka the other day. For him, it was like fighting a loved one, but she'd shown him no mercy.

Rin had become vicious and violent and declared the Boukenger as dead to her as her grandparents. She'd nearly killed Natsuki to prove her point before making off with the Precious of the day and Yaiba in tow.

Masumi had gone after his daughter in a rage, but she'd slashed him across the chest with her naginata and shoved him backwards. Souta was willing to be that Masumi was happy to have his AccellSuit.

Natsuki had been in tears when she came out of it and Masumi vowed revenge. But, Kando had wisely said that revenge wouldn't work.

So, both generations of Boukengers had been forced to pool their resources to defeat this new faction of the Negative Syndicate. They hadn't even given themselves a name and already they were proving to be a really big threat

Souta turned over in bed again and tried to shut out the sound of Rin taunting him and then, he sighed. He did care for Rin in the short time they'd spent with one another. And now, she'd turned to darkness. What was he going to do?

Natsuki lay awake in Masumi's arms, her body still sore from fighting Yami no Shizuka and nearly getting killed. She liked the warmth that Masumi provided, the feeling of safety. She felt safe and at home when she was with him.

"Masumi?" Natsuki whispered, hoping he was awake.

There was a moan and a groan and then Masumi mumbled, "What is it Natsuki?"

"Do you think we can save our Belle?" She asked, worriedly.

Masumi wasn't sure if they _could _save Rin from Yaiba's dark embrace, but he wasn't going to say such a thing to Natsuki. She was clinging to hope.

"I'm not sure." He said, finally. "I certainly hope we can."

Natsuki cuddled deeper into his embrace, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "What did we do wrong?"

"We didn't do anything wrong. She just went down the wrong path." Masumi said, deciding not to voice the fact that as Rin's father, he felt responsible because he'd passed the darkness within him on to his daughter and she had fallen victim to the desires of Yami no Yaiba. This was his fault. He had suppressed the darkness inside for so long that it had been born in the heart of his own child and she'd used it to become one of the Boukenger's most dangerous enemies.

Natsuki wept into Masumi's chest and inside, Masumi cried with her.

"Was there a problem, Yami no Shizuka?" Yaiba's voice sounded slightly worried as Rin came back into the house, tossing the naginata aside.

"Kaze no Shizuka was here. I quickly disposed of her. She's not dead, but she's going to wish she was." Rin stretched. "Don't worry."

"It's not Kaze no Shizuka I'm worried about." Yaiba said as Rin got back into bed. "It's Gekkou."

"The bird?"

"Yes, the bird. He's more powerful than she is and is the one who poses a very real threat."

"You should have thought about that before you tried to kill him."

"Yami no Shizuka…it's not your place to say such things."

"I'm serious Yaiba. If you didn't want to get on his bad side you shouldn't have tried to kill him or at least made sure he wouldn't survive."

"You seem unafraid."

"I'm not. I've got nothing to fear. The Boukengers can't touch me, I kicked Shizuka's ass, and if you think for two seconds that a bird is going to scare me…"

Yaiba was proud of her bravado and her lack of fear, especially since she'd already disregarded the Boukengers as threats. He'd trained her to fear nothing, but he should have told her to be cautious of his former boss. Gekkou was not a being you upset unless you wanted vengeance (which was why Yaiba had hoped that the demon bird would destroy that part of him. He wasn't pleased when he found that both Gekkou and Kaze had survived).

"If only Kaze no Shizuka had been more like you…"

Rin smirked. "She'll never be like me…I'm better."

Yaiba's arms slowly slid around her waist and yanked her to him. "I know."

The next morning, Kei had actually gotten out of her hospital bed and was walking around a little, only to encounter Tsubasa.

"I see you're up." Tsubasa said curtly.

"Tsubasa Mogami, if we weren't stuck 25 years in the past, I'd kill you." Kei was trying to keep herself from going fully angry on him. "How dare you taunt my brother!"

"He's 19 years old!" Tsubasa said. "What's he doing acting as second in command when _I'm_ your right hand man?"

"I put him there because he knows how to best carry out what I want because he's one of the few people I tell such things! And he can lead!" Kei was infuriated by Tsubasa's arrogance, a trait she'd never known before. "And I can trust him with this sort of thing."

"And you can't trust me, Kei-san?"

"Judging by the way you've been treating my brother while I lie in a bed, fighting for my life, I can't. Not anymore. Tsubasa, are you so angry that I found someone to love that it clouds your ability to make good judgments? Kando could have used your support. My brother needed back up and I was counting on you to do that. You failed me, Tsubasa and I don't know if I can ever trust you again."

"Kei-san…" 

Kei held up her hand. "Don't Tsubasa, just don't." With that, she limped away slowly, not bothering to look back. She paused, and then said, softly. "I thought you cared for me, Tsubasa Mogami. I thought that if you cared about me, you'd treat my brother well and be happy for me when I am happy. Instead you and Satoshi, with your resentment and your anger, disappointed me and took everything out on Kando and Hikari. That makes me unhappy and angry. If I didn't need you so much right now, I'd fire you." She affixed Tsubasa with a glare. "Now that I'm on my feet, I don't want to hear about any more infighting and if I find out that you three are giving each other black eyes, I'm going to give you all black eyes. Kando, too. Got it?"

"Yes, Chief." Tsubasa murmured, feeling embarrassed.

"Don't call me Chief." Kei muttered.

Hikari awoke alone in her hospital bed, her head throbbing. She curled on her side and wept tears for her lost nee-chan, who'd become so consumed by the darkness that she was very much gone. Her beloved Rin was gone to her now. What was she to do without her nee-chan to guide her?

She hadn't cried so much since Mama told her a sad bedtime story once when she was a little girl.

"What would Mama and Papa say when they see me like this? What would they say if they saw nee-chan like that?" Hikari whimpered in the darkness to no one. "How am I going to bring home my nee-chan?" She felt helpless and alone, left to drift away. Her hope was dead in her heart. "I should just think that nee-chan is dead and this Yami no Shizuka person took her place." But that was hard for Yami No Shizuka wore Rin's face.

Suddenly, the door slid open and Hikari turned over, hoping to see Kando. Instead there was a young girl in black and purple standing there. "Hello, Inou Aurora. How are you?"

Hikari was a little confused at first at the presence of the young woman and she looked at her oddly. "Who are you?"

"Sakurako." The girl replied. "But the Boukengers know me as…"

"Mr. Voice." Hikari finished. "I remember you, now! We met when I became a Boukenger in 2029.

I didn't know you had a real name. We called you Little Miss Voice."

Sakurako smiled. "Now, I know you must be from the future. How are you feeling today, Aurora-chan?"

"Hurt." The pain was clear in her voice. "What am I going to do, Sakurako-san? I can't fight my own sister, but she's so far gone that hope seems pointless."

"Hope is never pointless." Sakurako said. "It's always good to have that."

"But, my nee-chan, who's been looking out for me since the day I was born, suddenly, she decided that killing me was something she wanted to do. Kando thinks it's brainwashing, but I'm convinced that Yami no Yaiba did nothing to nee-chan, except be there when she got that Precious."

Sakurako sat on the end of Hikari's hospital bed and affixed the young Deep Adventure with a pointed stare. "Pay attention to what Kando's saying. He has a point. I believe that the Takaoka family often picks up on things that others miss. Kando is no exception…at least from what I've seen." She smiled. "Don't let this get you down. Everything will turn out right."

"You really think so, Little Miss Voice?"

"Oh, I know so."

Kei's body was incredibly weak from her walking and from waking up drugged and confused and soon, she could no longer force herself to walk, so she slid to the floor in the hallway, and curled into a ball. She wept softly, tears staining the floor, her body unable to do much else. Suddenly, the vibrations that signal footsteps came walking towards her.

"Kei!" It was Satoru and he ran to her side. "Oh, my god, what happened!?"

"My body's weak, even with the Ashu blood, and I can't go any further." Kei wiped her face, to make sure he didn't see her tears. "I got up just so I could walk and Tsubasa and I had a fight and that just took it all out of me." She threw up her hands. "Tsubasa Mogami is NOTHING like his father! You'd think he'd have had good manners knocked into him by Souta-sensei, but NO! He proved to me that I couldn't trust him!"

Satoru's heart ached. Kei was struggling to hold onto her sanity, to some part of her control, but failing. Rin's betrayal was taking a massive toll on the younger Chief.

"It's all right." He murmured, scooping her up and carrying her to his bedroom. "You can share my room for right now." Midway there, Kei began crying again, like she'd done so much these last few days and Satoru pulled her close, trying to get her to stop.

He murmured comforting words to her and rocked her gently, pushing the door to his room open and laying her down on for a moment. By then, she'd fallen sleep and he quickly pulled out a blanked and spread it over her body.

She was like that for hours until she awoke, slowly lifting her head to find Satoru asleep in a chair, a book in his lap. "Satoru-san?"

He opened one eye to look at her. "Kei, are you all right?"

"No…I am not okay." Her voice sounded ready to crack. "I'm not even sure if I can do this anymore." Her voice sounded soft and uncertain. "I should…. maybe I should just quit being a Boukenger…. this Chiefu thing is proving to be more than I thought it would be and I can't handle that."

"Kei…"

"No…" Kei was tightly clutching the Accellular that had belonged to Rin. "…this was only bearable because my best friend was my sub-chief and I don't even have THAT any more."

"No one ever said that being Chief was easy, Kei." He sat on the bed, rubbing her back, trying to comfort her. "I've had it rough since I began. But, even then…Masumi has yet to warm up to me. Your Boukengers seem to like you."

Kei didn't say anything, she just sighed.

"Your team needs you to hold it together." Satoru reminded her, coming to lie beside her. "They needed you desperately in the time you were out. But your brother did an admirable job keeping his head on. If he was my son, I'd be ridiculously proud of him. I wish I could say the same for my own son…"

"Just wait until I get my hands on Satoshi." Kei muttered. "I can't believe how he can be sometimes!" She looked into his eyes. "You really think I can do this?"

"Would I have picked you for BoukenRed if I didn't believe it?"

For the first time in what felt like forever, she smiled at him. "No, you wouldn't."

He smiles. "That's my Kei." He wiped away her tears. "Let's ask Mr. Voice and Makino-sensei if they will help us find out what happened to Kei. The effects of a Precious can't explain all her defection away. I think your brother was onto something when he said that he thought that Rin was brainwashed."

"When Dad was training us to be Ashu Watchers, he taught us to be very observant of things around us. Kando was usually better at it than I was. This explains why he would notice something I wouldn't." Kei's voice was trying to find its footing. "If I knew where to find Kando, I'd ask him, but I haven't seen him at all today."

"You know what…I think he's with Hikari."

"What? Again?"

"They like each other."

"I know they like each other, but do they have to spend every waking moment with…" Her words ended when Satoru decided to put his lips on hers and roll them over so he was on top.

"Well, I'm with you all the time, so that has to count for something, hmmm?"

Kando was a little surprised to walk into Hikari's hospital room and see Sakurako talking to Hikari. Not that he knew her name, but he knew who she was.

"Little Miss Voice?" Kando asked.

"Ah, Kando Takaoka." Sakurako said with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"We've met…but that was in 2029." Kando said. "Hikari, are you all right?"

"Yes, I feel much better than I did when I woke up." Hikari smiled and waved her boyfriend over. "Come and meet Sakurako."

"You have a name, Little Miss Voice?" Kando ventured over, curious.

"Yes, Sakurako." Sakurako was pleasant and sweet and it was hard to believe that this little girl was actually Mr. Voice. "I take it you have information, I might need to hear to help you solve your problems."

"You mean about how I think it's brainwashing?"

"Yes, now please…tell me."

Tsubasa wondered how in the world he was going to fix things with Kei. He loved her, he really did, but learning that she'd spent time in Satoru's arms just made him crazy and he lashed out at Kando because he felt bad for being angry at someone in a coma. He didn't realize that by extension, he was hurting Kei.

He shouldn't have acted like that towards Kando. He should have thought before her spoke. He'd ruined any chance he'd had of winning her heart.

_What have I done? _ Tsubasa thought as he wandered through Tokyo.

Suddenly, a loud scream alerted Tsubasa to something going on in an alley and he poked his head around, only to have his father clamp his hand around his mouth.

"Dad, what are you do-"

"Following Shizuka-chan" Souta whispered, pointing to a rooftop and indicated for his son to follow him. The two scaled the building easily and they hid in the shadows watching Yami no Yaiba and Yami no Shizuka face off with Kaze no Shizuka and Maborshi no Gekkou.

They were having some sort of argument and then suddenly Yami no Shizuka pulled out her naginata, swung and there was a horse cry from Gekkou and blood and bird feathers went flying.

Kaze no Shizuka screamed in terror.

Tsubasa's jaw dropped open. "Oh, my god…did she just…"

"I think she did..." Souta's eyes were wide. Was this what had become of his beloved Rin?


	11. Blue For You, Black Drive

06/03/2007 22:42:00

Chapter Ten

Blue For You, Black Drive (Part Four of Four)

When Rin turned in the general direction of Tsubasa and Souta, Souta had a difficult time not cringing at the sight of her. She was dressed all in black, and bathed in the light of the nearby streetlamps. The effect cast an eerie glow on her and made her look insane. In all honesty, she already looked crazy for her eyes were a pure black color and she was covered in blood and blue feathers.

And she was _laughing._

If there was ever a time during which Souta had been more afraid for his life, he couldn't think of it.

_Oh, my Rin-chan…._ he thought. _What has Yami no Yaiba done to you?_

Even Yaiba seemed shocked at this turn of events, but that didn't stop him from being pleased at the perfect little assassin he created.

Kaze no Shizuka knelt beside what was left of Gekkou and wept for him. "Gekkou-sama!" she wailed, only to be stopped by Rin placing the naginata's blade next to her throat.

"You might want save that wail for while you're begging for your life." Rin murmured. "Or I could make it quick and simply slice off your head. I should have done that when you invaded our home while we were sleeping."

"Mama…"Tsubasa murmured. His mother was in danger and he had a shot at saving her, but he would have to face off against the dangerous Rin, who'd become a threat to all those who knew her and loved her. He remembered how she'd lashed out at her own mother and younger sister and nearly killed them. And then, in what had been her most monstrous act, she'd attacked Kei and left her to die.

"She's gone mad." Souta muttered.

"I have to save my mother." Tsubasa muttered, pulling out his Accellular.

"Tsubasa, no!" Souta yelled, but Tsubasa had already charged forth, yelling "Start UP!"

If someone told her that Satoru Akashi, the handsome Fiery Adventurer could be as gentle and loving in bed, as he could be passionate, Kei would have laughed. But, there she was, in bed with Satoru, and he loved her as though she was a treasure that needed special love and attention.

Kei was still weak from the drugs and for being in a coma, so her movements where not where she wanted them to be, but Satoru more than made up for that. Kei wondered where guys like Satoru where in 2031, because she'd been wondering how she could find a man like him. But, she had him and that was more than enough for her at the moment.

"Hey, you all right?" Satoru asked, pulling himself up a little because he noticed that she'd had trouble breathing. "You seem tired."

"It's just the drugs they gave me." Kei whimpered. "I can't keep going for much longer." She slumped against the bed and Satoru cradled her close to him. Her breathing was labored and she sounded more tired than she was. She seemed so fragile these days and Satoru personally wanted to punch Rin into next week for what she did, but he knew he couldn't. It just wasn't in his nature.

He sighed as he let Kei lie down on her side, her eyes gently closing. He decided to take pleasure in just watching her snooze, which he enjoyed until about an hour later when there was a knock at the door.

Not wanting to disturb Kei, Satoru got up and slipped a robe on before answering his bedroom door. "Who's there."

"Sakura."

Satoru was surprised. "Sakura?" He opened the door and there she was.

"Chief…I have something to tell you."

Kando's theory took well over an hour to explain to Sakurako and she listened patiently to what he had to say.

"You know, that actually sounds plausible." Sakurako said. "I'll look into this." She stood up and patted Hikari's knee. "You two hang in there."

"We will, Sakurako-sama." Kando said as she left, closing the door behind her.

Hikari smiled as Sakurako left, but then her smile faded. "Kando…"

He smiled gently at her, and crawled into her hospital bed , wrapping his arms around her and kissing her head. It didn't take long for Hikari to fall asleep and soon, Kando followed suit.

Satoshi lay on his bed, wondering why in the world Kei would have picked his father over him. He had more to offer Kei than his father. "I could give her everything she wanted and so much more…but she picks Dad over me. Why? He taught me everything I know." He rolled over on his side and sighed. "Could it have something to do with Kai and his death?"

"What could have something to do with Kai and his death?" A new voice asked and Kando shot up in his bed.

Sakurako was standing in the doorway. "You left your door open, Satoshi Akashi."

"Little Miss Voice?"

"In the flesh…and much younger than you remember, right?"

"I just remember pictures."

Sakurako laughed. "Now, what seems to be bothering _you_?

"My Chief, Kei-sama, she's dating my father and it makes me upset. What does he have that I don't have?"

"Red-kun is not one of her Boukengers." Sakurako replied. "You and Tsubasa are basically in the same boat. She can't love either of you because a) she doesn't want to ruin your professional relationship and B) because of what happened to Kai. She could never love a comrade after that. I bet she thought you two knew that."

Satoshi grumbled. "Well, obviously, we didn't!""

"She also has a point. Don't take it out on her brother." Sakurako sounded wiser than her age. "Talk to Kei. Get to the point…..but don't try to ruin her happiness because of jealousy. That's how friendships are destroyed and you don't want to destroy what you have with her, do you?"

Satoshi looked thoughtful and then he remembered how angry and hurt Kei had been when she talked to Tsubasa. He'd hid in the hallway and watched them talk and he saw Kei's face. He saw her face and how angry and wounded she'd looked and he wasn't surprised if she turned her anger on him. "Not really.."

Sakurako smiled. "Then some talking is most definitely in order."

"Rin, STOP!" Tsubasa yelled, pulling out his Blow Knuckle and arming it at her. "Knuckle Cannon!"

The blast hit Yami no Shizuka and sent her and Yaiba flying backwards and Tsubasa used the opportunity to go to his mother's side. "Mama…." He said.

Kaze no Shizuka was understandably confused. "Who are you and why are you calling me Mama?"

"I'm Tsubasa, your son." Tsubasa said.

"But you're a Boukenger….how could you be my son? And if you're my son, who's your father?"

Tsubasa sighed. "Would you please just trust me? Or do you want to die like this at the hands of Yami no Shizuka?"

Kaze looked confused and then, she realized something. "Wait a second…" Tsubasa groaned and yanked Kaze no Shizuka to her feet and attempted to lead her off the roof before Yami no Shizuka had a chance to recover. Kaze no Shizuka was reluctant, but desperate to stay alive. But they were almost caught by Yaiba, who blew them off the roof and they went flying, screaming.

Souta leaped up, concerned for his son. "Tsubasa!"

"I don't think that your son is who you should be concerned about, BoukenBlue. " Rin's voice, cold and taunting murmured in Souta's ear as he felt the cold blade of her naginata slide across his chest. "I think you should be more worried about yourself." The blade came up to his throat.

Souta gulped, now very, very scared.

"How does it feel, Mogami Souta….tell me how does it feel to know that your love of beautiful women is what's going to be the end of you?" She giggled and slowly came around to look into his eyes. All he could see now was black…her eyes were completely black and cold and she was still covered in blood and bird feathers…and there was still a smile on her face. "How does it feel, Souta, to know that the woman who is going to kill you is one who shared your bed with you, hmmm? One who knows all your secrets?" Rin laughed. "You were fun to be with Souta, even if only for a little while. You'll be even more fun when you're dead. One less Boukenger for me to worry about." The blade inched closer and Souta prayed to whatever deity who'd listen to spare his life. Finally, he restored to drastic measures. "BELLE, STOP!"

She froze and Souta noticed the kanji for "darkness", "yami", glow on her best. It pulsated and seemed to vanish. The blackness vanished from her eyes and she backed away, dropping the naginata.

"Souta?" She asked, quietly, confused. "What am I doing here?"

His eyes widened. The brainwashing must come with some sort of hitch. She couldn't remember what she'd done as Yami no Shizuka. She was most definitely brainwashed. Kando was right!

"Rin-chan?" Souta murmured, touching her face. "Do you remember me?"

She looked scared. "How did I get here? And why am I covered in blood and blue feathers?"

"You do remember, Rin-chan!" Souta embraced her tightly to him. "Oh, Rin-chan, it's all right. You're safe now."

"Souta…what's going on? The last thing I remember is looking into Yami no Yaiba's eyes and then, I'm here. What did I do?"

Souta didn't want to tell her all the monstrous things she'd done as Yami no Shizuka, so he said, "You don't want to remember."

Yaiba was alarmed. His hold over Yami no Shizuka had been broken! Had it been Souta's love for her? And then he noticed the fading of the sutra in her back.

They hadn't made love that night and the spell he'd cast was fading. He needed to get her back…fast.

So, he acted, sending a storm of papers around Souta and Rin and suddenly, Rin was gone from Souta's arms and she was in Yaiba's.

"You're not taking Yami no Shizuka from me." Yami no Yaiba said to Souta. "I love her and I want to keep her. She's mine, BoukenBlue! MINE!"

Souta was confused at Yaiba's words and suddenly, in a swirl of wind , they were gone.

"Rin-chan…" Souta murmured, falling to his knees. "Belle-chan…" Tears formed in his eyes and the ache in his heart grew louder and stronger. Suddenly, he remembered about his son and he peered over the side of the building. "Tsubasa!"

"I'm fine, Dad!" Tsubasa yelled. "But Mom took off!"

"That's all right!" Souta called. "Let's get back to the museum."

"So, you really are marrying Eiji." Satoru's tone worried Sakura. "I figured."

"It's nothing personal, Chief, it's just that Takaoka-san and I are in love. He makes me happy…and I thought you should know." Sakura was visibly nervous, her fragile voice shaky.

"I would have liked to have known a little while ago…around the time you started dating." Satoru didn't intend for the coldness to creep into his voice, but it did.

All the color drained from Sakura's face. "You knew?"

"Of course, I knew and the fact that you two hid it from me…"

"I didn't want everyone to know about my personal life, that's all and Takaoka-san was so nervous about everything that he went along with my wishes. I wanted to keep some things private, Chief. You don't have to know everything."

"I would like to, though. Seeing as how I am Chief and all…but clearly, you didn't think as much of me as I thought you did. If you did, you wouldn't have lied or snuck around."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Maybe I would have had to lie if you weren't so dense!" Her hurt and her slight jealousy of her own child came in full force from her voice. "I loved you from the moment I met you! I waited for you, patiently, hoping that maybe one day, one day, my patience would be rewarded and you would see that I loved you. But, it looked as though I was going to be waiting forever!" Tears formed in her eyes. "I don't want to wait forever for you…no woman should have to wait forever! So, when Takaoka-san looked at me, paid attention to me and loved me, how could I not say no? And now he wants to _marry_ me! ME! Sakura Nishihori! Me, the unemotional, quiet sub-chief, who will probably carry a torch for you for the rest of her life!"

Meanwhile, Kei's eyes fluttered open and she could hear her mother's words. It was like listening to them fight in 2031. It broke her heart to have to listen to this again.

"And I'm telling you this now because I want to have some chance of saving our relationship before it becomes like Kei said it will become! I want to change that, Chief. I still want us to be friends."

Satoru looked away and Kei could take it no longer. Thanking the deities above, she slowly got out of bed, only to collapse on the floor and cry "Kyoko!"

"Kei!" Satoru cried, turning from the door and going to her side.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought Satoshi was lying about you and Kei." Her voice was frigid. "As it turns out you _are_ getting cozy with my daughter."

"Satoru-san couldn't love you because of Kyoko." Kei murmured weakly. "When she died, he shut off his heart. He couldn't love another comrade after she died." It took her a lot effort to sit up. "But he knew, all this time, that you loved him, Mother, but he never said anything because he didn't want to break your heart."

Sakura's knees became wobbly. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew." Satoru sighed. "I care about you, Sakura, but I didn't want to ruin our relationship or drive you out of SGS. That's why I didn't tell you and that's why I said nothing about you and Eiji. You were happy and I admit that I was jealous."

"Satoru-san…" Kei was clinging to him.

Sakura looked at her feet. "And see, here I am, jealous of my own daughter because she has the one thing I've always wanted." She looked straight at her daughter and her Chief and tried to keep the pain of heartbreak out of her voice. "She's got your heart, Chief." With that, she turned from the room and ran down the hallway. In the distance, a door slammed.

"You know…does she really love Eiji or is she using him as substitute for me?" Satoru thought aloud.

"Well…I'm here, aren't I?" Kei murmured.

Sakura collapsed behind the door of her room and sobbed her heart out. She wanted Eiji's warmth and strength…she needed it. Whatever love she had left for Satoru died in her heart. He'd chosen her daughter over her and now, she needed her fiancé. As the tears died away, she took a breath. She loved Eiji with her whole heart and she always would., but a small part of her would love Satoru, too. She exhaled and sighed, crawling into bed. She needed rest.

"Masumi?" Natsuki knocked on the door of Masumi's bathroom. "Masumi, are you in there?"

She could hear water running in the room and she grew worried. "Masumi?" She knocked louder. "Masumi!" She began to panic. "MASUMI!" She tried the door and it opened.

Natsuki screamed. "MASUMI!"

There was blood all over the bathroom. Masumi, still fully clothed, except for his SGS jacket, was lying in the bathtub, his wrists slit and blood was still coming out his wounds. On the mirror, he'd painted "Forgive me, Natsuki" in his own blood.

Natsuki kept screaming. "Masumi! MASUMI!" She ran to her fiancé's side. "Masumi, please wake up!" She ran to the door and started screaming for anyone who could hear her. "Help! Somebody PLEASE! HELP!" Natsuki began sobbing hysterically. "MASUMI! MASUMI…don't leave Natsuki, please.."

It killed Yami no Yaiba to do it, but he had to knock Rin out in order to get back his perfect little killer. Once she woke up, he carefully tied her to the bed and prepared the spells and candles. He'd have his Princess of Darkness for his bride this night and once he was finished the marriage ceremony, she would be his…now and always.

Yaiba knelt before the bed and began murmuring the brainwashing spell, setting the Three Neck Dragon of Darkness before Rin, allowing its power to seep into her, taking her over and dragging her deeper than ever before. The effect was like watching her orgasm when they made love; she would wail and cry and twist around and it turned Yaiba on to watch and he was temped to take her right then and there, just to reinforce the work of the sutras, but he had to wait. He was going to do this right.

Yaiba raised his hands and released his paper cranes and they became paper flowers that he laid around their bed. "Yami no Shizuka?" he asked. "Are you with me?"

"Yami no Yaiba?" Rin murmured attempting to sit up. "What the hell is this?"

"Don't worry." Yaiba murmured, crawling onto the bed and untying her wrists, carefully sinking his sutras into her body. "Come with me, we're going to get married."

"Right now?"

"Yes…" He opened his faceplate and kissed her. "…now."

Natsuki, still covered in blood, sat by Masumi's hospital bed,, hugging Hikari to her. Masumi was still alive, thank god, and he was going to make it. But, Natsuki demanded answers.

"Masumi, why? Why would you kill yourself?" she asked, tears in her eyes. "Why would you leave Natsuki?"

"Rin…what's happened to her….it's all my fault…"Masumi croaked. "I ignored the darkness, I let it get this far. I let it be born in the heart of my daughter and she's gone with Yaiba. He's controlling her!"

Natsuki whimpered. "Don't you still want to marry Natsuki, Masumi?" She reached out and touched his hand. "Don't you want to be a family with her?"

Masumi looked at her. "Of course I do…" He smiled sadly. "I love you, Natsuki, but I blame myself for what's happened to Rin."

"Dad, this entire thing with nee-chan is not your fault." Hikari said. "She made her own path and she's got to follow it. She was trying to do the right thing and Yaiba got to her. It was not because of you."

Masumi sighed. "I don't believe this! How could I have let this happen!?"

Hikari sighed. "Dad! Get over your guilt! THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT!"

Masumi looked into his younger daughter's eyes and sighed and then looked away. _It's all my fault…it will always be my fault._

Yaiba had dressed Rin in a beautiful black gown and veil to prepare her for marriage and they knelt before the 3 Neck Dragon of Darkness and the altar he'd prepared.

"Do you object to this, Yami no Shizuka?" Yaiba asked, lifting the veil to look into her eyes. "Once the darkness approves and seals our binding, it can't be broken. We were born in darkness…" 

"…to be wed in darkness." She finished. "If you are so determined to have me for your wife, Yami no Yaiba, why are you waiting?"

He chuckled, taking her hand and encouraging her to move her other hand the same way he did as he recited the wedding ritual.

The smoke from the candles seemed to take on a life of their own and swirl around the couple, surrounding them, enveloping them. Neither of them had ever felt stronger than they did while they were binding their hearts together in darkness and power, and in a deep, passionate love for one another. The power was almost overwhelming for Rin and she began to pant.

"…Yaiba!" she called, her heart thundering in her ears.

He grew worried at her tone. The Three Neck Dragon of Darkness had clearly not put enough power into her body to make her able to handle the marriage spell. So, he plucked the thing off the altar and put it in her hand,. It reacted and emitted enough dark energy that the candles seemed to blow out, all of which enveloped Rin, seeping into the core of her being, turning her heart into black ice and her eyes onyx jewels.

"Are you better now, Yami no Shizuka?"

Rin nodded. "Let's finish what we started."

"Well, at least he didn't stop speaking to you." Eiji said as he lay in bed next to Sakura. "I can't believe that you two were holding torches for each other for so long. It'd be funny if you weren't involved."

Sakura sighed. "I think I may have destroyed my relationship with Chief." She was staring at the ceiling. "But it felt so good to finally confess my feelings! It was liberating…and now, I can love you fully, for a great weight has been lifted off my chest." Her voice grew softer. "…but the cost…." She sniffled.

Eiji felt for Sakura, he really did, but he was secretly happy. Now, he didn't have to worry about Satoru exacting revenge on him and Sakura for being happy together. But, the pain in his beloved's voice made him think. Had being with Sakura and asking her for her hand in marriage really been worth all the pain she was going through? Was happiness and love, two things he'd never known before worth all this?

Tsubasa lay in his bed all bruised up after saving his mother and he sighed. He wanted to fix his relationship with Kei, but he knew that it wouldn't be easy. He had a long road ahead of him, especially since he had to win back her trust.

"Oh. Tsubasa, you did get hurt." Kei's voice spoke from the doorway. "Your bruises look terrible."

"Kei-chan?" Tsubasa rolled over and there she was, looking more beautiful than ever, despite wearing a red robe over her hospital gown.

"Hi, Tsubasa." Kei came in, smiling and she had to stop to catch her breath. "I have to talk to you."

"Are you all right, Kei-chan?" Tsubasa asked, watching as she struggled to get herself to his bed.

"I'm sorry." Kei wheezed. "I didn't mean to get angry at you."

"it's all right, Kei-chan." Tsubasa said as he got up, and helped her get to his bed. "I understand. You needed to vent and you vented."

"Tsubasa, I know that you care for me and it's very flattering, but I'm afraid to fall in love with a comrade. I couldn't do it after Kai died, it was too painful. That is why I can't love you." Her breathing was horrible and Tsubasa wondered if those scatterbrained doctors had bothered to check for complications while she was in a coma. "I chose Satoru because he was a man after my own heart and not one of my Boukengers. I've spent most of my life in love with the ideal of this man and now that I have gotten to know him, I love him more."

Tsubasa understood. After Kai's death, Kei had been lonely and her heart empty. Now, she'd found someone who made her happy and loved her and she was enjoying it…or at least, she was trying to. "I'm happy for you, Kei-chan."

"You are?"

"Yes…I love you and I want you to be happy…even if it's not with me."

Kei smiled. She could forgive him now.

If things kept going Yaiba's way, he and Rin could summon the darkness to Earth in no time. Now, he had Rin as his bride in darkness, the ceremony going quite nicely after the minor complication. Their union was sealed with a kiss and the binding of their black hearts.

Now, his Dark Princess (soon to be queen if she disposed of the Boukengers), was up to something. He watched, half in interest, half in amusement, as she lit black candles around their large bed, and removed her black wedding veil. She laughed. "Time to celebrate." She purred, undoing the clasps on her Mandarin style dress and slowly letting it slide off her body. She'd deliberately put nothing on. "Coming to bed, Yaiba?" she purred.

Souta was beginning to think that he'd never get any sleep. The entire scene between him and Rin from earlier kept playing over and over again in his mind, from her attempt at killing him to the vulnerability in her eyes when she snapped out of it, to the sight of Yami no Yaiba snatching her from his arms, growling that she was his. The vision haunted him and all he wanted was for her to be in his arms again.

"Rin-chan….how can I get you back?" He was beginning to think that he could never get her back. Yaiba would definitely have strengthened the spell he cast by now. It might prove harder to break, if not impossible. But Souta was determined. He would figure this out. He had his friends to help him. He would get Rin Inou back.

The next few weeks proved to be anything but routine. The two sets of Boukenger spent equal time fighting off Gaja and Ryooun and trying to figure out if Kaze no Shizuka was still alive. She'd vanished after Tsubasa had saved her from sharing Gekkou's fate.

And then there was Rin/Yami no Shizuka and Yami no Yaiba. Just as Souta expected, Yaiba had strengthened the spell he'd cast and with it came an increase in Yami no Shizuka's strength.

She was at least twice as dangerous as she was before and she showed little, if any mercy. She apparently lived to taunt them and use their emotions against them. This seemed to work especially well with Hikari and Kei.

Hikari, still reeling from her father's suicide attempt, was more fragile than Kei and it didn't take long for Yami no Shizuka to break her and she spent three days in the psychiatric ward of the SGS hospital, trapped in a straight jacket, freaking out. Kando had wanted to go out and kill something and it got to the point in which Kando had to be sedated just so he would shut the hell up. For Natsuki, this was pushing her to the breaking point and she became so afraid for her life that she spent the nights in Masumi's hospital bed, afraid to be alone.

Yami no Shizuka seemed to take a special pleasure in making Kei go Ashu, an event that happened on two occasions: when Kei was stressed and when she was angry. Apparently, it was a lot easier to harm Kei when her Ashu fourth took over and Yami exploited this fact to the extent that Kei nearly killed herself to prevent being seen in her Ashu state.

Eiji was not happy about this turn of events, but no one else seemed very willing to let him kill Rin. Not when there was still a chance to save her and make her herself again.

"She's exploiting my Ashu heritage!" Eiji all but roared at Satoru one afternoon, while Kei, lay in the hospital, doctors applying stitches to a fresh wound on her body. "She's trying to slaughter my daughter like she's some animal! That is my child!"

"Yami no Shizuka has some sort of plan in mind." Satoru was calm as always, even though the fire in his blood was burning hotter than ever. "If we kill her now, we'll never figure out what she's after."

Eiji clenched his fists. "Thank goodness I have control." He muttered. "Although if you want…"

"Eiji, no." Satoru said firmly. "You work on keeping your Ashu half under control and tell Kando to do the same. The last thing we need are three wild Ashu running around!"

Kei could hear them and she could almost feel her father's anger. She sighed and turned over to the mirror in her hospital room. She wished she had someone to talk to. Everyone else seemed to be off hunting Rin before she actually killed someone.

Suddenly the mirror seemed to glow white and a woman slowly stepped out of it, dressed all in gauzy white clothing, with white hair and glowing eyes, an odd purplish mark beneath her left eye. A pendant that looked like a flower was draped around her neck. Kei gasped.

"Grandmother?" she whispered and the woman smiled.

"My lovely Kei." The woman was the Ashu demoness known as Kei, Kei and Kando's grandmother and Eiji's mother. She smiled and made her way to her grandchild's bedside. She looked worried. "What happened to you?"

"I got hurt, Grandmother." The younger Kei said. "My former best friend tried to kill me…after she made me go Ashu. "

The older Kei looked surprised. "That can happen?"

"In me, yes…in my father and brother, no." the younger Kei sighed and looked away. "I must be vulnerable because I'm female."

Her grandmother sat down on the bed and patted her daughter's leg. "You've done a good job carrying on your father's legacy, Kei. He must be very proud of you."

The younger Kei smiled. "yeah, he's real proud of my brother and me." She sighed. "But, now, I don't know what to do, Grandmother. How can I defeat my best friend when she's stronger than ever and twice as dangerous? How can I bring her back?"

Kei smiled and came to lie beside her older grandchild , stroking her hair. "To bring her back, my Kei, you have to thaw her heart of black ice."

"Her heart of black ice?" The younger Kei was confused.

"Yes…the spell cast on her is powerful and it turned her heart to black ice. You have to thaw it to break the spell…,but that can only be accomplished by someone who loves her fully, with their whole heart."

"Well, I love her, but not like that." Kei murmured thoughtfully. "But I do know someone who DOES love her that way."

"Then its up to that person to save her from herself before she's lost to darkness forever…and then you'll never get her back."

The younger Kei sighed. "Are you sure?"

The older Kei smiled. "I'm positive."

"So, I'm supposed to believe Red-chan based on something that her grandmother told her?" Mr. Voice sounded skeptical and rightfully so. Everything that Kei said that her grandmother told her sounded slightly strange, but then again, Grandmother Kei was known for being a little odd.

"Grandmother wouldn't have mentioned how to break the spell of no one else could do it."" Kando wasted no time in coming to his older sister's defense. "Once of us here loves Rin purely, fully and that is the only person who can destroy the hold that Yaiba was over Rin and cleanse her. "

"But who could do such a thing?" Natsuki asked.

Kando, Kei and Hikari all turned towards Souta. "Souta-sensei can do it." Kei said, calmly. "He's the only love who has a pure, non family love for Rin and since he somehow broke the spell once, I'm pretty positive he can do it again."

"But won't Yaiba be onto that?" Satoru asked. "I mean, wasn't he there when Souta broke the spell over Rin the last time?"

"He was there…" Souta murmured thoughtfully. "…getting those two apart is hard, if not impossible." His voice trailed off as he remembered Rin's eyes slowly turning back to their normal color.

_Souta? _ He could almost hear her voice again and his determination to get her back filled him.

"I'll do it." Souta clenched his fists.

"He'll be dead before he can even approach her." Sakura muttered to Eiji.

"Don't underestimate the power of a man in love." Eiji said.

"All right then." Kei put on her best "Chief" voice. "Boukengers: our new mission: save Rin before we lose her for good." She snapped her fingers. "Attack!"

Even though she hadn't given birth to Kei yet, Sakura had somehow figured out that Kei was putting on her best Chief façade for the sake of her remaining Boukenger. Call it "mother's intuition".

"Kei, you don't have to put on this act for your Boukengers." Sakura said after Kei's team left to track Yami no Shizuka and Yami no Yaiba from their last known location. "It's okay to be upset about Rin."

"I am upset about Rin, but the person who's been attacking me, hurting me, attempting to KILL me, is not Rin. That is _not_ my best friend. My best friend is trapped in Yami no Shizuka's body and I'm going to get her out…or die trying."

Sakura had to admire her daughter's determination. "Do you really think you can do it, Kei?"

"Yes, Mother, I think I can." Kei was having a difficult time not picturing the look on her mother's face from her confrontation with Satoru a few weeks before and she sighed.

"I'm not upset about what's going on with you and Chief." Sakura said, her words taking Kei by surprise.

Kei's eyebrows went up. "You're not?"

"No, I'm not." Sakura smiled. "Does he make you happy?"

Kei looked at her feet, bit her lip and then looked into her mother's eyes. "Yes, mother…he makes me very happy." At the thought of spending time in Satoru's arms, Kei's heart began to speed up. "He makes me happier than Kai did."

Sakura remembered Kei telling her about what happened to her former fiancé, Kai Tomasu and Sakura began to understand. Her daughter was simply following her heart….just like Sakura was.

"Then, if Chiefu is the man who makes you happy, then I can't object to that."

Kei was surprised, to say the least , and she smiled. Her mother had come around. "Thank you, Mom." She said, softly, giving her mother a hug.

Sakura smiled and patted her daughter's back. Kei had come a long way and Sakura was very proud. " I know you can save Rin. We're counting on you and Souta-kun."

Sakurako was surprised at how Kei had managed to pull herself together "Looks like Red-kun did pick a worthy successor." She said as she tapped something on her computer, watching the scene between Sakura and Kei. "You couldn't ask for a better red." She sighed. "I'm glad she asked for me to pitch in a little. Those two have been hard to track recently. Let's see if this new SGS technology on loan from SGS USA can help."

Finding Yami no Shizuka and Yami no Yaiba was proving to be harder than anyone anticipated. Being ninjas, they only appeared on the radar briefly before vanishing again and it was becoming increasingly frustrating.

"She's trying to outsmart us." Masumi said, picking at the bandages around his wrists. "I'll bet you anything that Yaiba's helping her stay hidden."

"Of course, he's helping her!" Souta cried. "He claims that he's in love with her and he's not letting her go without a fight."

"Then if it's a fight that Yaiba wants, it's a fight he's going to get." Kei said, clenching her fists together.

"Funny how you should say that, Takaoka Kei." Rin's voice, cold and taunting came from the LCD screen behind the two teams. A flash and Rin suddenly appeared, still dressed as Yami no Shizuka and wearing the most evil of smiles.

"Yami no Shizuka…" Kei muttered.

"In the flesh." Rin crowed. "Having fun looking for me? I imagine you'd be looking harder if I'd actually murdered Souta in front of Tsubasa." She twirled her naginata.

"Where are you?!" Kei shouted, her fists so tightly clenched that her knuckles were turning white.

"Like I'm going to tell you." Yami no Shizuka snickered. "I'm not going to let you ruin my happiness with my husband, you demonic killjoy."

"It's one fourth!" Kei yelled. "Get it right, you bitch!"

"Oh, _I'm _ the bitch?" Yami no Shizuka was taunting Kei and Kei was playing, (purely because she inherited Eiji's rashness) right into her hands. "Look at you, the demonic love child of the Sub-Chief and Akashi's little Half demon pet. No wonder your mother had nightmares when she was pregnant with you!"

Kei was beginning to lose it, for her hair was beginning to turn the same white color as her widow's peak.

"Nee-chan, calm down." Kando gripped his sister's arm. "Your hair is beginning to whiten."

"GO TO HELL, INOU BELLE!" Kei shrieked, chucking Rin's Accellular at the screen. "YOU ARE DEAD TO ME! DO YOU HEAR ME?! DEAD!" The rest of her words became a demonic scream as the Accellular hit the monitor as Rin began laughing, her voice echoing through the salon.

The monitor shattered on contact and Kei collapsed to her knees, screaming, before her screams became sobs and she just collapsed into tears before getting up and tearing out of the room.

"Nee-chan!" Kando shouted, giving chase. "Nee-chan, wait!"

Souta looked at the shattered monitor and then at Rin's Accellular, which lay on the floor in pieces. He sighed. Did he really have a chance of bringing Rin back to herself? Was he really the only one who could do it?

_I like you, Souta-sensei! _ Rin, this time as herself, appeared in Souta's memories. She was wearing her regular SGS uniform and smiling at him, her eyes sparkling. _I like being with you!_ Her face became more serious. _Please come and save me…_

Natsuki slowly sank to her knees and wept. "Did Natsuki really give birth to something so evil, Masumi?"

Meanwhile, Yami no Shizuka was laughing at just how insane she'd driven Kei. It was all part of her plan. "Seeing her that upset just tickles me." She declared as she got up and walked around former base of Dark Shadow, idly twirling her naginata. "And now…to bait Souta into coming to me. I love my husband…but this will be much more fun if I had a slave to cater to me." Yami no Shizuka chuckled, her eyes taking on a dark glint. "…and Souta-sensei just can't resist a pretty girl" She cast a glance at Kaze no Shizuka, bound and gagged in a corner. "Isn't that right, Kaze?"

The girl looked positively terrified.

"Hey, be thankful, you shape shifting whore!" Yami no Shizuka snapped. "I could have tortured you! I could have offered you up as a sacrifice to bless my dark marriage! Instead, I kept you alive so you can lure Souta-sensei to me. And now…well…time to serve your purpose." Yami no Shizuka leaned into the other female Shinobi and smiled. "And once you've done your purpose, I'm going to let you go…but only if you leave Japan. Otherwise….I'm going to kill you…._slowly_."

"Why not just kill me after I've played bait?" Shizuka demanded in her usual whiny voice.

"Because if you die now, there's a possibility that Tsubasa will vanish…and I intend to enslave both father and son."

"And what, use them to clean up after you?" Shizuka asked.

Yami no Shizuka smiled. "Well…I admit the sex with Yaiba is thrilling…but it would be nice to feel human flesh on mine again after making love to that armor. That's what your future husband and your son will be for. Even the Princess of Darkness needs sex and I can't demand it from Yaiba all the time."

"You mean, that crazy BoukenBlue really is my son?" Kaze remembered the death of Gekkou and how that boy had come to her aid. He'd called her "mama". Suddenly, Shizuka was filled with rage. "How dare you! That's my SON!"

Yami no Shizuka shoved Kaze down on the floor and aimed the naginata at her throat. "You know…I think I will kill you."

"Yami no Shizuka, stop." Yaiba's voice made her freeze. "Killing her won't get your goal accomplished." He approached his dark bride and touched her chin. "You do want the Mogami father and son as your pets, don't you?"

Yami no Shizuka nodded and tossed the weapon aside. "Can't do that if Souta-sensei's biggest weakness is dead."

"Why not lure him out yourself?" Kaze asked.

"Because that would be too obvious a trap." Yami no Shizuka replied, slapping the other girl across the face and forcibly yanking her close. "Now, this is what I want you to do for me…."

Eiji had recognized the symbol that was one the jewelry that Yami no Shizuka was wearing, so he hit the books to read up on it and brought back some disturbing news.

"A Dark Marriage?" Sakura asked, peering over Eiji's shoulder. "What's that?" The older Boukengers had gathered in a quiet section of the SGS library.

"It's a very elaborate bonding ceremony that marries those with high levels of darkness together. Basically, it bonds their black hearts." Eiji explained. "It was commonly used among Ashu tribes." He pointed to some pictures of jewelry in the book. "Rin was wearing stuff like this in her broadcast. Look at the symbols. I saw them engraved in her jewelry."

"What are they?" Natsuki asked. "And why is this so important?"

"These symbols are also words for darkness in many languages…they aid in the bonding ceremony." Eiji sighed. "I'm guessing that Yaiba forcibly induced the darkness in Rin and then married her, eradicating her pure heart. We don't have much time before the darkness consumes her completely."

"How much time do we have?" Souta asked.

Eiji sighed. "Three days…since he must have entered into the Dark Marriage right after what happened with Souta."

"Out of desperation, most likely." Satoru said. "We should tell the others."

Just then, Kando and Hikari came charging into the library, panting.

"Nee-chan's escaped!" Kando cried. "She chewed through the straps we put on her at the psychiatric ward!"

"You put Kei in the nut house again?" Satoru asked.

"We didn't have a choice!" Hikari said. "She was going crazy and she'd gone totally Ashu on us, so we sort of had to sedate her before she actually did anything with her and we can't use the metal chains because she uses them as weapons. Yami no Shizuka has really done a number on her." Hikari looked at the book Eiji was looking at. "What's that you have there. Eiji-sama?"

"I found out the reason why Yami no Shizuka seems to have an increase in power." Eiji explained as he told Hikari and Kando about the Dark Marriage.

"So, we have 3 days to save nee-chan before she becomes Yami no Shizuka forever?" Hikari asked. "That's not a lot of time, especially since we have no idea where she and Yami no Yaiba are."

"2000 yen says that's what Yaiba was counting on." Sakura muttered.

At that moment, Souta's Accellular rang and a high-pitched, childish voice answered "BoukenBlue!"

Souta gasped. "Shizuka-chan!"

Tsubasa and Souta where not expecting to find Yami no Shizuka waiting in the clearing with a bound and gagged Kaze no Shizuka.

"Playing right into my hands BoukenBlues." Yami no Shizuka teased. "You two are so much alike…can't resist a pretty girl in danger." The naginata inched its way up Shizuka's front. Yami no Shizuka laughed. "So, this is what we're going to do….you two surrender your wills to me and I will let little Miss Kaze here go free. Refuse ands he dies…and if she dies, Tsubasa dies with her, for he will cease to exist without his mommy. How sad."

"Wills meaning…" Tsubasa was confused.

"She wants us to become her slaves." Souta clarified. "She wants us to surrender our free wills to her and become her servants."

"More like pets, but yes, that's the idea." Yami no Shizuka chuckled.

"Do you really want both of us? I will surrender my will, but only if you let Shizuka and my son go free." Souta said, stepping forward.

Yami no Shizuka raised an eyebrow and regarded Souta coldly. "All right, BoukenBlue senior." She said, snapping her fingers and pulling out a contract, complete with a quill pen. A flick of her wrist and the pen moved towards Souta. She laughed. "Oh, you'll have to prick your finger and sign in blood. That way I will really know you've signed your life away."

Souta took the pen and gave both Kaze and Tsubasa a look, before pricking his finger and using the small amount of blood to write "Mogami Souta" at the bottom of the scroll. Yami no Shizuka's smile grew more sinister.

"DONE!" She announced as she snatched up the scroll and examined the signature. "And now, BoukenBlue belongs to me." She snapped her fingers and the chains binding Kaze no Shizuka came away and a blue and silver collar appeared around Souta's neck. Souta's eyes became empty and glassy and his expression blank. Even thought she hated to do it, Yami no Shizuka kept her word and let Shizuka go. She smiled and pulled Souta to her with a special chain made of silver. "Bye, bye." Yami no Shizuka waved and with a poof, the two were gone.

Tsubasa had to give Kei credit. At least she didn't kill him _right away_. Instead she gave him one of her pointed deadly glares. "Tell me this… WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, TSUBASA!?" She roared.

"My mother was in danger…what the heck did you want me to do? Stand around and wait for Yami no Shizuka to kill her? What if it was your mother, Kei-san? What would you have done? My father signed his freedom away for me! You can't just abandon him. Not like that…it's not fair!"

Kei looked away. It wasn't fair, that was true. She couldn't just abandon Souta and leave him in the clutches of Yami no Shizuka. He was Tsubasa's father and, despite the fact that she still thought of Tsubasa Mogami as a part time jerk, she cared for him.

"Why?" Kei asked.

"What?" Tsubasa asked.

"Do you know why Souta-sensei signed away his freedom?" Kei asked.

Tsubasa shrugged. "He asked if I could be let go if he signed the contract."

"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a) Souta being the only one who can break the spell Yaiba has on Yami no Shizuka and/or b) the Dark Marriage, would it?"

"How did you know about…" Hikari began.

"I read the same books my dad reads." Kei said. "But I don't think that Souta was counting on Yami no Shizuka casting a spell to completely strip him of his free will."

"How do you plan for something like that?" Satoshi asked.

"You don't." Kei replied

"I see you only got one of them." Yami no Yaiba commented as he watched Souta nuzzle Yami no Shizuka's thigh. "He seems quite content."

Shizuka laughed. "He's got no free will, so he does what I tell him to do, when I tell him to do it. He signed away his whole life just to belong to me." She fingered Souta's Accellular. "Eventually, I plan to sic him on his Boukengers after injecting him with a little dark power." She stroked his hair. "And now, I have everything I want."

Yaiba nodded and kissed Shizuka's hand before moving to her neck. "Yes…you will receive everything your black little heart desires, Yami no Shizuka."

"Now that nothing's holding us back, Yami no Yaiba, it's time we moved towards our Ultimate Goal: cover the world in darkness so we can rule over it." She held up the Three Neck Dragon of Darkness. "I say we've put it off long enough. I say, it's time we struck the Boukengers hard and fast, but this time, instead of going after the younger generation, we go after the older generation." Yami no Shizuka smiled. "In fact, I have a specific Boukenger in mind."

"Oh? Who?"

Yami no Shizuka waved her fingers at the smoke coming from the black candles and the image of Satoru Akashi and Kei Takaoka appeared. Yami no Shizuka watched the scene of them in Satoru's bed unfold before she waved her hand in disgust to make the image vanish.

"I thought you were done targeting Kei." Yaiba said as he placed his hands on Shizuka's shoulders.

"Oh, I am. It's not Kei I'm after." Another wave of her hand and Satoru appeared in the smoke. "…It's her lover."

"You know…I thought you'd go after your mother…."

"I would, except that, see, I like existing." Yami no Shizuka examined the image of Satoru created in the smoke and then let the smoke surround her body so she could change into black leather pants, a black top and silver jewelry. It was what she called her "Going out" clothing. She quickly did her hair up and smiled. "Time to go kill the one thing that Kei loves more than anything else. They may not have been together very long, but…they're soul mates. Can't you see? The bond between them is so powerful that it's only breakable by death…or a forced separation. They share…an adventurer's heart and I'm going to crush it beneath my heel."

"Sounds like you have a plan." Yaiba commented.

"I do…and I never really liked Satoshi anyway."

Kei lay awake next to Satoru, trying not to let the tight feeling in her chest become overwhelming.

"Is something wrong?" Satoru asked, rolling over to face her.

"I have a bad feeling, Satoru." Kei murmured. "I think Yami no Shizuka is going to be consumed before we can get to her. Souta's been stripped of his will and he was the only person who could break the spell. There are less than 3 days before we lose her forever and I don't know if I can get through to her anymore."

His arms curled around her waist and pulled her close and he nuzzled her. "You shouldn't give up so easily."

"Satoru, remember how much she's destroyed…remember what she's done…remember how quickly she forgot about everything that used to mean something to her! That's not my best friend anymore. That's someone wearing my best friend's face…using her memories, speaking in her voice…that's not Belle Inou! She's trapped in there and I don't know if I can get her out."

"Are you giving up on saving her, even though you know there's a chance to save her?"

"I don't have a choice. She's pretty much gone as it is." Kei's eyes became wet and she sighed, trying to force herself to fall asleep.

"Natsuki's worried about her Rin-chan." Natsuki rolled over to face Masumi. "Natsuki knows that the window to save her Rin is shrinking…but Natsuki doesn't think that Rin can be saved."

"Don't say things like that." Masumi idly picked at the bandages on his arms. "I didn't give up when I had to rescue you from the Quester and look where we are now."

"But Natsuki doesn't want future Natsuki to lose her daughter." Natsuki murmured. "What is Natsuki going to do?"

"Leave it up to the new generation." Masumi said. "We can't get through to her, although she won't kill us because she likes existing. She needs us to stay alive so she'll live. But I have confidence that Souta will break the spell. After all…he can't resist a pretty girl."

"Yes! Natsuki understands!" Natsuki smiled. "Souta-san will save our daughter! He has to…"

Masumi sighed. Natsuki may have thwarted his suicide attempt, but he knew that she wouldn't let him go without putting up a fight. Masumi was all Natsuki had and all she was ever going to have. He understood how important things like this were to her.

"And if Souta-san doesn't save Rin, then Natsuki will! Rin won't hurt Natsuki!" Natsuki curled against Masumi's warm body. "Natsuki and Masumi won't give up hope, right?"

Masumi smiled. Even in a particularly dark hour, Natsuki managed to fill his heart with sunshine. "Masumi won't give up."

The next day, the 10 Boukengers sat in the salon, all of them occupied with eating something. The room was quieter than normal and everyone kept glancing at Kei as though she was ready to explode.

"We have two days left." Hikari murmured. "Two days before we lose my nee-chan forever to Yaiba and his dark marriage."

"Stop saying it like that." Kando said. "You're taking as though it's the end of the world."

"It's the end of _my _world." Hikari muttered.

Kei sighed. "So, what do we do now? Paperwork until we get a report of a new Precious?'

"I hate paperwork." Tsubasa said, casting a glance at his father's guitar.

"It's an important task!" Kei snapped.

"It's mundane!" Satoshi added.

"Be quiet!" Kei shouted. "For once in your lives pay attention to me!"

Suddenly, Mr. Voice appeared on the monitor. "Good morning, Boukengers…where's Blue-kun?"

"He signed away his free will to become Yami no Shizuka's servant." Satoru replied. "It's a long story."

Mr. Voice looked surprised and then he continued. "Well…this morning we received a tip of a Precious located in the mountains. We weren't given any details about it, but…we think you should check it out."

"All ten of us?" Kei asked.

"Yes, Takaoka-chan, all ten of you…since you're missing members and what not. Safety in numbers…and look out for Yami no Shizuka and Yaiba…those two have been unusually active lately and they may be after this."

"As if we needed something else to worry about." Sakura muttered.

"Is that all, Mr. Voice?" Satoru asked.

"Yes…and be careful. I don't want anyone to wind up dead." With that, he vanished.

Kei and Satoru looked at each other. "Do you want to do it or should I?" Kei asked.

Satoru snapped his fingers. "Boukengers, move out! Mission start!"


	12. The Greatest Precious: Love

GouGou Sentai Boukenger: The Next Generation

Chapter 11: "The Greatest Precious: Love" (Part Five of Five)

"The Boukengers have played right into our hands, haven't' they?" Yami no Yaiba commented as he observed the new generation Boukengers move through the mountainous forest near the former Dark Shadow base.

"Of course…I told you that alerting a false Precious signal would bring them to us." Yami no Shizuka hadn't gotten out of bed yet and she lay there, watching the images created in the smoke from the dark candles, her hand running through Souta's hair. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they figure out that this is a very elaborate trap to capture Satoru Akashi."

"I have a bad feeling, nee-chan." Kando said, tugging on his sister's SGS jacket. "I sense more here than what we're expecting. I sense…Ashu…at least I think its Ashu."

"What do you mean?" Kei asked.

"There is a presence of Ashu here, but it's sort of weird…like what ever it is, it's not pure Ashu." Kando clarified.

"You two sense Ashu here?" Hikari asked. "Should we alert the others?"

"No." Kei said. "Because this presence is only half-Ashu. Dad! Come out! This is no time to mess with Kando and me!"

"You shouldn't be here, Kei." 2031 Eiji's boisterous voice echoed through the forest. "Yami no Yaiba and Yami no Shizuka lurk in these forests. They may have set a trap for you or a trap for the older Boukengers. Either way, it's a trap…and a very elaborate one."

"Natsuki has a bad feeling." Natsuki murmured as the older Boukengers moved through a separate forest path than the younger ones. "She senses a presence watching us."

"Is it Yami no Shizuka?" Satoru asked. "If it is, then we should be on alert for Souta, as well. He could be near her, if not with her."

"Natsuki's not sure…. but the presence watching is definitely made of darkness."

Yami no Shizuka chuckled from her place in the trees above them. "You don't know the half of it, mother." She murmured. "Shadow Nipou! Shadow wall!"

Almost as if on cue, a wall of shadow descended on the Boukengers, pelting them with energy.

They fell and suddenly the dark wall seemed to crackle and swirl, forming the shape of Yami no Shizuka, or at least her silhouette. "Have you come to share Souta's fate? Or tear me away from my husband to whom I bound my heart?"

"We've come to save you, Rin!" Natsuki refused to give up on her child. "Natsuki won't let Yaiba have you! Don't you remember? We're your family, your friends! We care about you! Please, Rin! Don't betray us like this!"

The naginata was suddenly pressed to Natsuki's throat. "Shut up!" Yami no Shizuka yelled. "Rin Inou is dead! She's not coming back! That part of my miserable existence is over! I'm Yami no Shizuka now! Stop trying to make me go back to that life! I don't want to! I never will! And you have my father, who was too stupid to abandon you to cloak the world in darkness like Yaiba wanted to thank for it. You want to blame someone? Blame him! I did inherit the darkness from him, after all."

What little color remained in Masumi's face left. _This is my fault!_

Yami no Shizuka smiled and turned her attentions to Satoru, pulling out a contract. "Now…_Chief_…" She said the name as if it was a dirty word. "…I have a proposition for you…involving my former best friend."

"Don't do it, Chief!" Sakura yelled and Yami no Shizuka snapped her fingers, dark energy binding Sakura's hands and feet before effectively gagging her.

"Quiet!" Shizuka held out the contract. "Your life for Kei's." she said. "You sign away your existence and I might let Kei live long enough so she can go home. If not, then I'll kill her…and since your soul is bound to hers…you'll feel her pain just as clearly as she'll feel yours and I'll make sure to make it nice and slow."

"My life…for Kei's?" Satoru asked, looking at the contract.

"That's right."

"No…I won't do it…I love Kei, but I don't love her that much."

"Imagine what she'll feel like when she hears that, especially, since I know that she would willingly sign away her life if it meant saving yours." Yami no Shizuka smiled. "Her love for you will disappear! You'll be dead to her…just like you're dead to Sakura!" Shizuka giggled. "But, I suppose that can't be helped. But either way…today, Yami no Shizuka becomes the Queen of Darkness and takes out the Boukenger who put her on this path; the great Satoru Akashi, the Immortal Fang!" Her laughter grew so loud that it was nearly deafening.

"Shadow Nipou! Dark Energy Tsunami!" A huge wave of pure energy washed over the Boukengers and they shut their eyes as they were violently thrown around.

When Sakura, now free from her chains, opened her eyes, Satoru was gone. "Chief! Chief!" she screamed. "CHIEF!?"

"I told you he'd be mine."

Meanwhile, Eiji continued talking from his tree.

"Are you still looking for Ouga?" Kando asked.

"I see your sister did pass on the message. Have you two been looking for him?' Eiji asked.

"We've sort of been preoccupied dealing with Rin/Yami no Shizuka." Kei's voice was flat. "She's worse than Ryooun and Gaja combined…possibly even worse than the Quester."

"I know, I've been watching. Isn't there a way to break Yaiba's hold over her?"

"The only person who could do that signed away his free will, Dad" Kando added. "Can you help us?"

"Well, I suppose I can put off the Ouga search to give my children a helping hand." There was a rustling noise and Eiji emerged from the bushes. He didn't look his 50 years, except for the white in his hazelnut hair. "What I do know is that this is a trap for SOMEONE, I just don't know who."

"We should definitely tell the others." Satoshi said. "They have to know that Yaiba and Shizuka are up to something. "

"Right." Kei opened her Accellular to make the call, but instead Sakura's voice came through the speaker.

"Kei! Chief's gone!"

"Told you it was a trap." Eiji said.

Satoru was very confused as he came to, bound to a bed and stripped to the waist. He turned his head as much as he could, and found he was in a very dark bedroom, in front of what could only be described as a dark altar. And for the first time in his life, he was scared out of his wits.

"Satoru Akashi." Yami no Shizuka purred. "The Immortal Fang…my ex best friend's lover and soon to be ex-chief. Can't be Chief if you're dead." She came into his line of vision, dressed in a black halter-top and leggings, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wielding an exactor knife and a wicked smile. "I wonder what Kei will feel when I hurt you."

She lay atop Satoru's bound body and smiled, toying with the knife. "Where to cut first…"

"Why, Yami no Shizuka? Why are you doing this?"

"Because I fucking can." Shizuka replied. "And because I want to. I want to break you because breaking you will break Kei. She can feel your pain because you are her soul mate. The more pain I cause you, the more it will break her." She carefully cut into his face, drawing blood and he hissed. "Just wait until I start doing the unthinkable to you." She laughed. "You're no good to me dead. Now alive…. I can torture you until you beg me to kill you and still, I'll keep you alive until I'm almost certain Kei is shattered for, she needs you...God knows why. She can never be with you!" Another cut into Satoru's skin. "You're decades apart in age and she's the love child of your precious sub-chief and you crazy ass half demon! Your denseness caused her birth, for Sakura wanted you…she craved you and yet, you ignored her in favor of adventuring and now, look what you have. Your lover is Sakura's daughter and she adores you, just like her unemotional, pathetic, simpering mother. It's so pathetic!" Another cut, this time on his chest and Shizuka laughed as Satoru screamed. "Then again…so are you."

Rin put the small knife down and then picked up a container with scorpions in it. "Love hurts, Satoru. Especially when your lover is just like your former fiancé, Kyoko. Remember her? The love of your life?" She picked up a scorpion out of the container. "The woman you would have given your life for? The only thing in the world you loved more than adventuring? And she died waiting for you…and you failed her. Just like you're going to fail Kei." She placed the scorpion on Satoru's body, encouraging it to sting him. "She's going to go mad and eventually kill herself or someone will kill her and it will be all…your…" Satoru screamed as the scorpion stung. "…fault."

Yami no Shizuka laughed and placed more scorpions on him, reveling in his screams as she pulled out the antidote. "Satoru Akashi, you are…pathetic!"

Just as Yami no Shizuka had thought, Kei could feel every ounce of Satoru's pain, and it had driven her to the ground, shrieking in pain, her father and brother hovering over her.

"What's wrong with Kei-sama?" Satoshi asked.

"Akashi has been captured and Yami no Shizuka must be torturing him." 2031 Eiji replied. "She knows that Satoru and my daughter's souls are linked and his pain is her pain. What is that monster doing to Akashi?"

"SCORPIONS!" Kei screamed, rolling around.

"What do we do?" Tsubasa asked.

"Find the others!" 2031 Eiji yelled. "NOW!"

"But how are we going to explain you?"

"KANDO, SHUT UP AND DO WHAT I TELL YOU TO DO!"

Satoru thought he was going to die and he'd only been with Yami no Shizuka for an hour. She was definitely up to something. She was currently dunking his body in freezing water, hoping to cause him shock and he was hollering her to have mercy.

She stuck his head underwater and held it, waiting for his body to start to shake. "I don't believe in mercy, Akashi." She yanked his head up and he gasped. "You little prick." She shoved his head back under the cold water.

Somehow, _somehow _the others managed to get Kei, who was shrieking in pain back to SGS museum and strapped her to the bed. Sedating her wouldn't work because the pain Satoru was feeling would wake her up and she'd be worse off. But it seemed like she couldn't be worse off than she was right at that moment. Apparently, Rin was taking a perverse pleasure in tormenting him, as she was stinging him now…with jellyfish.

"MAKE IT STOP!!!" Kei screamed. "Please, make her STOP!"

After jellyfish, scorpions and really cold water, Rin got really basic and began to beat him bloody. "Eventually, this is going to kill you or I will…and you'll die a horrible death." Satoru was shrieking as his back bled freely. "And I can't wait to watch it all."

Satoru was almost certain that Yami no Shizuka would kill him or that the pain of hurting Kei would kill him. He knew that Kei would be so consumed with her pain that she would possibly take her life. He could almost feel her anguish and her pain and he could almost hear Kei screaming in the back of his mind and she was screaming loudly… like she was in labor and the harder Rin struck him with the whip, the louder she screamed.

It was the strangest thing 2031 Eiji had ever been witness to. His daughter, his oldest and only daughter, was strapped to a hospital bed, howling her innards out and sobbing in pain, her back bleeding, and small wounds on her arms, legs and chest. Kei's soul must truly be linked to Akashi's otherwise; she would not be experiencing this. They had a bizarre link of their minds and souls that enabled them to be psychically linked and to experience each other's pain. Suddenly, he understood what Yami no Shizuka was up to.

"She torturing Akashi in an attempt to get Kei to kill herself." 2031 Eiji said to the group, his voice not as loud as usual, but soft, laced with fatherly concern. "She knows that Akashi is linked to Kei in such a manner that they can feel each other's pain and so she's trying to drive Kei to suicide to escape the pain and break their bond, knowing that you might as well have cut Akashi's heart out." He paused. "And once Yami no Shizuka has accomplished that, she's going to murder Akashi."

"But if she kills my Dad, won't that mean that I'd be erased from existence?" Satoshi looked worried and with good reason.

The younger Boukengers looked at Satoshi.

"We have to stop Yami no Shizuka!" Hikari said. "I don't want Satoshi to vanish."

"But we don't even know where to find her." Tsubasa said. "Or my dad."

"Wait a second!" Kando snapped his fingers. "Tsubasa! Your dad's Accellular! It's got a tracking device!"

"I tried it already…Yami no Shizuka turned it off." Tsubasa muttered. "And I tried Akashi-sama's too…she turned that one off also."

"We're screwed." Hikari muttered.

"Not as screwed as my nee-chan." Kando muttered as Kei began twisting and shrieking, bite marks appearing on her arm. "What is Yami no Shizuka up to now?"

"Feeding time!" Shizuka announced sticking his arm into a tank with piranha in it and reveling in his screaming.

Meanwhile, Souta was sitting placidly in a corner, his eyes blank and glassy, but his mind was working. He was remembering.

He remembered the first date he'd had with Yami no Shizuka…no, with Rin. He remembered how she'd come out of a cute boutique dressed in all black, looking a lot like her father, her black locks tied back in a ponytail and, in a move that turned out to be very much unlike her father, she'd smiled at him and he got a glimpse of the Natsuki within. She'd looked so cute…even dressed in Masumi's customary black and she turned out to be like her father only in looks and a small part of his personality. She seemed happy and glad to call Kei Takaoka her friend and trusted her with her life. He wondered what had happened to the Rin Inou he'd fallen in love with. Was she still in that body?

Suddenly, Souta blinked and his eyes returned to normal. _What the hell…_ Suddenly, he took notice of what Rin was doing to Chief. "OH MY GOD, CHIEF!"

Rin stopped her cutting and turned around. "SHIT, the spell!"

Kei was weak and tired, bleeding and in more pain than she could possibly imagine, but she was relieved. Satoru was still alive. She could almost feel him. "Satoru…." She murmured. "Satoru…."

Satoru could almost hear her voice, strained from her screaming and she was calling for him. Weak and bleeding and in pain, he turned into the pillow and murmured for her. "Kei-chan…"

"I think she's stopped." Sakura observed. "Kei's not screaming anymore."

"Good, that gives us time." Hikari said. "We must find out where Yami no Shizuka is keeping Souta-sensei and Akashi-sama."

"We could start from where Akashi was taken." Masumi spoke up. "I'm pretty sure that Precious signal was false in an attempt to lure us out. Maybe, they're operating out of that area."

"That's a good place to start." Sakura remarked. "But I don't feel comfortable leaving Kei alone by herself."

"I'll stay." 2031 Eiji said. "I don't want Kei to be alone." He took another look at the hospital bed. "Hey…where did my Kei go?"

There was a collective gasp and they crowded around the window. In fact, Kei was gone.

Suddenly there was a gasping noise, for Kei had broken the straps and crawled out of the bed, blood dripping from her arms, back and chest onto the floor. "Where did Yami no Shizuka take my Satoru…where did she TAKE HIM?!"

"Nee-chan, you need to rest!" Kando rushed to his sister's side. "You're bleeding."

"Kando, shut up! I'm going to find Satoru…and then I'm going to make Yami no Shizuka pay for all the pain she's caused."

"Kei-san, you can't kill Rin!" Natsuki begged. "I'm sure she can be saved. We still have some time left." Natsuki's eyes grew teary. "She's my daughter!"

Kei frowned and sighed. She couldn't help but soften her face at Natsuki's face. She sighed. It reminded her of the older Natsuki from 2031 and when she cried the day she thought 2031 Masumi had been in a car accident (it had been a case of mistaken identity, but it had still brought her to tears). "We don't have a lot of time, just under 24 hours left to get through to her and even then, we have to figure out how to snap Souta out of it."

"You won't have to do that." Souta's voice came out of Kei's Accellular. "The spell sort of wore off and now, I'm sort of hiding from Yami no Shizuka."

"Where?" Kei wheezed.

"Under the floor." Souta replied. "I think I figured out what sort of spell Yaiba cast on Rin. It's a separate personality from Rin. Yami no Shizuka was a personality created by the darkness inherited from Masumi and Yaiba's spell brought it out and brought it to the forefront. Which means…"

"Nee-chan is still alive in there!" Hikari cried. "There's a chance!"

"Now, we have to go in and get Rin out." Tsubasa said. "But, how?"

"Leave that to me." Souta said. "I'll handle it. After all…true love will save her."

"Or get you killed!" Tsubasa snapped. "I like existing, you know!"

"I WILL HANDLE IT!!!" Souta shouted. "Just shut up, Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa's mouth snapped shut.

"Tsubasa-sensei, where are you?" Kei asked.

"Follow the tracking device!" Souta yelled and then he screamed. "Rin-chan STOP!"

"Dad!" Tsubasa yelled. "Kei-san!"

Kei was struggling to stand up, but she nodded, snapping her fingers. "Attack!" She stumbled and collapsed into 2031 Eiji's arms, whimpering for Satoru.

Tsubasa wasted not time in running out of the Museum, the other Boukengers in tow.

2031 Eiji cradled his daughter in his arms and carried her into the room, placing her on her bed and securing her arms to the bedposts. This killed him, watching his only daughter suffer so much and it was all because of Akashi and their bond with one another. He couldn't fault his young daughter with falling in love, but still…

Suddenly, Kei woke up, a new cut forming itself on her stomach. She shrieked again, yanking at her restraints, tears pouring down her face. The cut was followed by several slash marks on her arms and more screams. "Stop it, Rin!" Eiji heard Kei scream at the ceiling. "Please, just stop!"

Souta was now hiding in the closet of Rin's bedroom, watching Rin cut into Chief more, and laughing every time he made some kind of noise, knowing how much excruciating pain she was putting Kei through.

"I wonder how strong your bond with her's going to be once one of you is dead." Yami no Shizuka was laughing still, making small cuts on Satoru's arms. "I wonder if she's broken yet."

Satoru was trying very hard not to cry or scream, because she got off on that. He couldn't say the same for Kei, who he could almost hear shrieking in his mind and felt her pain, which had become so intense that she could hardly stand it.

There was a noise and then, the closet seemed to explode, a blue blur coming out and shoving Shizuka off Satoru.

Yami no Shizuka fell to the floor, the knife clattering away.

"Chief!" The blur was Souta. "Are you all right?"

"Do I look all right to you?" Satoru snapped. "That crazy girl has had me strapped down to a bed while she tortured me in a very stranger attempt to hurt Kei or drive her to suicide! How do you think I'd be?"

Souta quickly untied Satoru's wrists and, but was stopped by Yami no Shizuka, who had regained her footing. "That's my bargaining chip!"

"He's the love of Kei's life and she needs him." Souta helped Satoru to his feet. "And you're using him to hurt her."

"Of course, I am, you twit! That was the whole damn point! I am out to hurt that bitch!"

"She's completely insane." Satoru muttered. "She's totally nuts."

"She's also not Rin." Souta said. "Rin's in there, but she's trapped and scared."

"STOP IT!" Yami no Shizuka shrieked. "RIN INOU IS DEAD! SHE IS NEVER COMING BACK!"

Souta wasn't about to give up so easily. "C'mon Rin. Don't you remember? Kei's your friend, your best friend in the whole world. And right now, because of all that you've done as Yami no Shizuka, she's blaming herself, lying in bed and crying in pain because when you hurt Chief, you're hurting her, too."

"Well, if I can't kill that demon bitch, then I'll kill her lover! See how well she takes that!" Yami no Shizuka sounded defiant. "And stop calling me Rin! That is not my name!"

"Rin, come on! Think of the people you've hurt!" Souta yelled. "Think about it! You're not Yami no Shizuka! You're Rin Inou, Masumi's daughter. You have a family that loves you and a sister who is trying to bring you back! You have a best friend who loves you as though you were a part of her family! And you have me…who is so hopelessly in love with you, he can't think straight! Come on, Rin! I think you're in there. Come out! Come back to us!"

Suddenly, there was a violent sort of twitching motion and Yami no Shizuka hit the floor for a second. When she looked up, she was frightened and wide eyed. "Make her stop." It was Rin. "Please, Souta…make her stop."

Satoru was surprised. So, it was a split personality and Rin was most definitely trapped within.

Souta knew that approaching her at this point was a very dangerous idea. "Rin? Or Yami no Shizuka?"

There was a very small smile. "Rin." Her eyes were bright, but then she grew scared. "Where am I?"

"Don't you remember?" Souta asked.

Rin shook her head. "Why is Akashi-sensei bleeding and cut?" She looked at her hands and body in the mirror. "And why do I have blood all over me?" She looked even more scared. "What have I been doing? Did I kill someone?"

"No" _Thank God._ "It's okay, Rin." Souta held out his arms to her. "It'll be okay."

Rin smiled and threw herself into Souta's arms, clinging to the warmth and the love he provided.

Meanwhile, within, Yami no Shizuka was not about to let the body go without a fight. _LET ME OUT!_

But the light in Rin would not die. She had Souta to strengthen it. _NEVER!_

She looked up at Souta. "Yami no Shizuka wants out." She murmured. "I can't let her win."

Souta smiled and pressed her lips to his in a soul-searing kiss.

_NO!_ Yami no Shizuka felt the light overpower the darkness. _NO! NO! NOOOOO!_ And just like that, she was gone.

Groaning, Rin, as her outfit changed back to her usual SGS outfit, collapsed against Souta. Yami no Shizuka was dead and Rin was back. She was missing two months of her life, but she was back. Souta had broken the spell and Yaiba's hold over her.

Yaiba was furious as he appeared in the doorway, determined to take Rin back, but his advances were stopped by a new voice. "SHOOTER HURRICANE!"

A high powered blast of water pellets, send Satoru, Souta and Rin diving for cover and Yaiba fell forward for a moment, for Hikari, as BoukenPink, stood in the doorway. "If you think you're going to destroy my family a second time, you're mistaken Yami no Yaiba."

"Natsuki won't tolerate it!" Natsuki was wielding her Bucket Scoopers and Masumi, who'd just come back, was wielding his Radial Hammer.

"So the Inou family is ganging up on me, huh?" Yaiba wasn't going to die without a fight and he picked up his naginata.

Souta scooped up Rin and helped up Satoru as they managed to get out of the room before the three Inous and Yaiba tore it apart.

As it turned out, Masumi didn't even have to DO anything. His wife and daughter were perfectly capable of handling Yaiba themselves. They punched, they kicked and they attacked like lionesses on the hunt. Yaiba could barely get a hit in, which was unusual.

And then, they pulled off a successful double attack of "Shooter Hurricane" and "Scooper Phantom", sending Yaiba clear across the room.

"Now, Masumi!" Natsuki yelled.

After calling for the Accell Tector, Masumi unleashed "Hammer Dynamite", and just like that, Yaiba, yelling that the Inou family would never escape from Masumi and Rin's shared darkness, was destroyed.

Natsuki and Hikari began jumping around and hugging each other. Masumi exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Can we go back to the Museum now?" Satoru was having difficulty standing. "I want to see Kei again."

Rin looked very confused. "Why? Did something happen to Kei-chan?"

"Yes…Yami no Shizuka happened." Masumi broke up. "Don't you remember anything, Rin?"

Rin shook her head. Everything was a blank except for the part when she opened her eyes and found herself in Souta's arms again. "Oh god…what did I do?"


	13. BoukenRed & Lady BoukenRed Part One

GouGou Sentai Boukenger: The Next Generation

Chapter Twelve: BoukenRed & Lady BoukenRed (Part One)

Two Weeks Later

For the most part, life at SGS returned to something remotely resembling normal once Rin returned. No one ever fully explained to her what she'd done as Yami no Shizuka, but judging by the way everyone seemed to treat her, she wasn't sure she even _wanted_ to know. She was almost positive that she had done some horrible things as this "Yami no Shizuka" person.

But, she had Souta to comfort her. Souta was such a sweetheart. In the initial days since Rin came back to SGS, he never left her side, and took good care of her. He seemed to be the only one who wasn't afraid of her. Everyone else, even Hikari, kept their distance from her. This had worried Rin until Souta put her at ease and told her that they all just needed to get used to her being herself again and not Yami no Shizuka.

"What would I do without you, Souta?" Rin had murmured as he had brought her some dinner (a steaming bowl of beef ramen). "And why are you being so kind to me? I must have done horrible things to the people I care about."

"Because I know Yami no Shizuka is dead." He handed her some chopsticks. "I know that you're my cute Rin-chan again." He smiled. "And I know that you wouldn't hurt anybody without reason."

Meanwhile, Kei had gotten back to her main mission: looking for her father, who had vanished…again. Kei was now officially worried out of her skull. Ouga was running around wild and Eiji could possibly be killed. Not helping with the situation was her own personal injuries. Being tortured and knocked out and beaten within an inch of her life and then drugged like hell didn't really help. She was tired often, still weak and beginning to wear herself thin trying to get everything done at once. Satoru noticed how the stress was getting to her and attempted to talk her out of her work, but she refused. She had been delayed from her true mission too long.

One night, Satoru came into the salon to check on her and he found Kei collapsed on the floor. "Kei!" he rushed over to her and scooped her into his arms. She felt like lead in his arms, her body felt so heavy. "Kei, wake up!"

It was the second time he'd found her like that and now he was worried. He was positive that his sweet Kei was working herself to death. He understood how important her mission was, but her health should take priority.

Just like he was beginning to realize that there was no way he'd be able to carry her back to his bedroom. She wasn't the only one whose body was still recovering from being tortured for the hell of it. Midway through the hallways, he felt his body reach its limit and he gently lay Kei down

on the floor before falling to his knees. He was exhausted and he sighed, brushing some hair away from her face. He wondered what sort of promise she'd made to her mother that would have sent her down such a path. 2031 Sakura must have been very pleased to have such a dedicated, thoughtful daughter.

It was at that point that Satoru wondered what he was like in the future. He was willing to bet anything that he was unhappy. He had a wife, but he rarely saw her, a son who was always adventuring, and his relationship with Sakura had deteriorated to the point that they barely spoke. He couldn't possibly be happy.

But then, had he ever been happy? He and his father had always fought, his mother had long since died, the only woman he loved died in some crazy accident, and now, this. It was borderline ridiculous. Every time he thought he had something good in his life, it had vanished. Adventuring was his only constant.

He shouldn't get too close to Kei…she'd be gone, too before he knew it and he'd be alone again, with his books and his adventures and a cold, empty heart. The only good thing to come into his life in a long time was Kei and her warmth, but her place wasn't here. It was 25 years into the future and it would be completely selfish of him to ask her to stay just so he wouldn't be lonely. But, he had come to realize something. He realized that adventuring could never compare to Kei's love. It didn't fill his heart the way her love filled it.

He sighed and closed his eyes, gathering her close to him, not really caring that they were still in the hallway. He wanted to prolong this as long as he could. He didn't want to be alone again…not after finally finding the love of his life.

_There will always be darkness inside of you, Belle Inou…. always…. and you'll never escape the darkness. It will return and take your life! _

The cold, almost inhuman voice of Yami no Yaiba was hissing in Rin's ear and she awoke from a fitful nightmare, sweaty and scared, shivering in her bed, choking on her screams. She whimpered softly, gathering the sheets around her body. Her head hurt and her mind felt fuzzy and she wanted to curl up and die. Everyone was avoiding her and looking at her as though she'd killed someone and she couldn't remember why. What had she done? Why couldn't she remember anything?

She flopped back against her bed, curling into the fetal position and wondering. _Did I commit an act so unforgivable that no one wants anything to do with me?_ She then noticed that she was wrapped in Souta's warm blue jacket and he was snoozing next to her.

_Why is Souta unafraid of me?_ She thought. _Why is he always so close to me?_ She smiled and curled against him, reveling in his warm body. _It's nice…having him so close…almost comforting._ She let herself feel hope in her heart and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

_I love you, Souta Mogami._

"I can't believe that nee-chan doesn't remember anything that happened when she was Yami no Shizuka!" Hikari said to Kando the next morning at breakfast. "It's impossible."

"Not entirely, Hika-chan." Kando said. "After all, they were a split personality. It seems perfectly logical that while one personality is dominant, the other one wouldn't retain the dominant personality's memories." He took another bite of his eggplant. "I'm personally thankful that Rin-san remembers nothing. It would add more torture to an already horrendous ordeal. Can you imagine having sex with Yaiba? How else was he going to brainwash her?"

"Kando…. ewww." Hikari almost spit out her milk. "Do you actually think he…"

"I wouldn't put it past him." Kando replied. He sighed. "What I found amazing was Akashi-sama's bond with my nee-chan. They are definitely soul mates, bound heart and soul to one another. She would not have been able to feel his pain and experience his wounds if she wasn't the Person Just For Him."

"But they're like a generation apart." Hikari replied. "How could they possibly be destined for each other?"

"Because they are." Kando replied. "Personally, I'm happy. My nee-chan finally has someone she loves and cares for. I thought she'd never love again after what happened to Kai."

Hikari sighed. "You know, in some ways, nee-chan feels responsible for Kai's death." She said. "She felt like she acted too late in warning him of the trap. That guilt has never gone away for her. But, I think that Akashi-sama is a much better match for Kei-san. Now, if only Satoshi would get his head out of his ass and realize it like Tsubasa did."

"Satoshi-kun is jealous of his father." Hikari found this funny. "His father has the girl of Satoshi's dreams wrapped around his finger…among other things…. who wouldn't' be jealous?" She smiled at Kando. "Well, I'm not jealous of anyone…I've got the great Kando Takaoka…Ashu Watcher all to myself…and I actually do not mind his obsession with vegetables."

"More like Dad's brainwashing." Kando muttered. "When I was in school, the other kids thought I was a freak because I ate so darn healthy."

"Well, you're strong and smart and at least you're healthy. It's not the end of the world, you know."

Kando chuckled suggestively. "Well then, Miss Inou." He got up and scooped her into his arms. "Why don't I show you just how healthy I am?"

"What kind of girl do you take me for?"

Kei groaned, still lightheaded from all the painkillers those crazy ass doctors in the hospital had put her on. She was surprised to find her lying in the hallway; Satoru curled up next to her. She smiled and brushed his hair away from his face. Her heart sped up in her chest and she felt the connection between them grow stronger.

"Could it be I'm falling for Satoru-san?" She murmured, trying to her shake the thought away. She couldn't fall in love with him! They were a whole generation apart…but he made her feel so special…so loved. She couldn't go back to the lonely life she had. It was too painful.

"I'm proud of you, Natsuki." Masumi couldn't keep the pride out of his voice. "You really kicked Yaiba's ass."

Natsuki giggled, curling into Masumi's body. "Natsuki did what she had to in order to protect her babies. Natsuki can't wait to have her daughters. She brushed Masumi's hair away from his eyes. "Natsuki is glad to have Rin home and not to have lost you to darkness."

"Is that why Rin went after the Precious? To defend me?" Masumi sounded thoughtful. "To save me?"

"That is what my Aurora said." Natsuki replied. "She said that once Yaiba got a hold of you and that Precious, something horrible happened. But, she wouldn't say what. Natsuki didn't probe." She looked into his eyes. "Masumi…let's get started on that family now."

"Now?" Masumi was bewildered. "You want to start making a family _now?"_

Natsuki giggled and nodded, placing her hands over her stomach. "Natsuki wants to have Rin. She wants a family." She dove on Masumi then, effectively pinning him to the bed. "Right now!"

Kei was beginning to think that the doctors in the hospitals were sadists. She had yet to be fully functional even so much as a day since Satoru's return and that was because of all the dammed painkillers they insisted she take.

She wanted her normal function back! It had taken everything she'd had to get up off the floor and limp towards her own room and then an additional effort to flop down on her own bed. She sighed, as she curled into the fetal position, feeling warm and cozy in Satoru's large jacket. She sighed and thought long and hard.

_Is true love worth leaving everything behind? _She thought._ Is being with Satoru worth leaving my friends and family behind to pursue my own adventure with him? Is he the treasure I've been looking for? _She sighed. If she actually stayed to pursue a new adventure with Satoru, she'd be betraying her friends and family. But if she left to go home, she'd never be with him again. He was her soulmate. They were meant to be together…. weren't they?

The next few days passed without incident. Sakura and Natsuki went out shopping for their respective wedding dresses. Natsuki kept buying pregnancy tests to ensure her pregnancy. Everyone still avoided Rin, so she spent lots of time clinging to Souta, who had recently gone ring shopping. Kei was STILL out of whack from painkillers (apparently, she'd broken several things and required surgery), and Kando was trying to keep his sister from going on the warpath. Thankfully, he usually had Satoru's help to keep her from going crazy.

Meanwhile, Sakura was also more scatterbrained than usual. One morning, she'd come into the salon wearing Eiji's silver jacket instead of her, commenting that it was a little larger than usual. Masumi had said:

"Sakura-neesan, why are you wearing Eiji's jacket?"

Sakura's face had turned a violent shade of crimson when Eiji came in and handed her the pink jacket. "What is with you, Sakura? You seem so out of it."

Sakura looked up at Eiji and then at her ring and then she said. "I'm not sure of it, but I think I may have to ask about maternity leave."

All the color drained out of Eiji's face. "WHAT?!"

Sakura gave him a half chuckle and a smile and then she said, "I'm pregnant."

Eiji's eyes widened, rolled back into his head and then he fainted.

"Ei-chan!" Natsuki cried.

"Eiji!" Masumi and Souta shouted, running to his side.

Sakura carefully knelt beside Eiji and smiled. "I guess Kei's coming a little sooner than expected."

Meanwhile, Kei was sitting in her bathroom, starting at the little window of her pregnancy test, hoping to god that it was negative. She couldn't have Satoru's baby. How would she explain it? But she smiled at the idea of children. She'd always wanted to be a mother to a family of her own. And the idea of having a life with Satoru excited her beyond all measure.

But was she really ready for a child?

At the sight of the result, she sighed.

"Pregnant"

She was screwed. _How the hell am I going to tell him that I'm having his love child? And what am I going to do? Give it up for adoption? Abortion? Pray for a miscarriage?  
_

Suddenly, the shattering of the window shook her from her thoughts and she dove for the floor, curling herself into a tight ball to avoid the shards and protect her child.

"How dare Takaoka give Kei's name to his filthy daughter!"

_OUGA!_ Was the last thought Kei got out before everything went black.

Rin awoke to the feeling of something soft and furry rubbing against her body. She smiled as she opened her eyes and was greeted by Myuu. "At least you aren't afraid of me, Myuu." She cuddled the cat to her and smiled. "You're so much like Souta." Her eyes sparkled. "You know, I think I'm falling in love with him. If we weren't separated by time, I'd want to marry him." She sighed. "I don't know what I'd do without Souta."

"And I don't know what I'd do without you, Rin-chan."

Rin almost dropped the cat.

Souta smiled as he came to sit down on the bed. He brushed her hair and kissed her. "Are you all right today, Rin-chan?"

"I have a bad feeling, Souta." Rin murmured. "I think something happened to Kei."

Suddenly, Satoru burst into the room. "KEI'S GONE!!!"


	14. BoukenRed & Lady BoukenRed Part Two

Chapter 13:

BoukenRed & Lady BoukenRed (Part Two)

Kei's bathroom was a mess. There was broken glass and blood everywhere. Her red SGS jacket was lying in her bedroom, which explained why she didn't fight back against Ouga. And then, Satoru and Satoru alone noticed the pregnancy test and its results.

His heart sped up. Kei was pregnant with his child…and both Kei and their child were in grave danger. Satoru had to act and he was about to shove the test into his pocket, when he spotted the 50-year-old Eiji sitting on the windowsill of the bathroom. "Well…nice to know that Ouga is so determined to wipe out my line that he'd stalk my daughter."

"You mean you KNEW about this, Dad?" Kando looked ready for blood. "You let nee-chan be bait! Mom is going to kill you!"

"I wasn't sure what Ouga was up to at the time and by the time I figured it out…he'd already snatched Kei." 2031 Eiji sighed. "Please, because I can't risk putting myself in danger, find Kei. I know you love her, Akashi. I can see it. Please, Akashi…save my Kei."

"She's your daughter!"

"Ouga's got a very important Precious with him and if I don't find it and destroy it, he'll use it to destroy me and my entire family line…past, present…and future." 2031 Eiji explained. "It's a Precious that was used to bring him back."

"What sort of Precious is it?" Sakura asked.

"The Ashu Revival Mirror…supposedly destroyed until the New Gen Boukengers dug it up and it brought Ouga back." 2031 Eiji replied. "And now, he's trying to destroy me using the Sands of Memory and Time and that damn mirror! He's trying to undo all that I've done! I have to stop him!"

"But Dad, WE have the sands of memory and time." Kando informed his father, taking. "It's being stored in the Precious Bank. Ouga can't use it, if he doesn't know where it is."

"Why else would Ouga kidnap Kei?"

The color drained from Kando and Satoru's faces.

The others all looked at one another.

Satoru clutched the pregnancy test to him and sighed, focusing his mind on Kei and their bond. _Kei…_

Kei awoke slowly, realizing that her legs and arms were bound and her head was throbbing. She could almost hear Satoru's voice calling for her.

_Kei…_

_Satoru…_ She thought, tears forming at the corners of her eyes and she thought about him and then, her baby. Her baby was in danger, even more so than she was. _Satoru…_

"How dare he give Kei's name to his filthy child." She could hear Ouga talking. "How could he possibly disgrace her any more?" The Western Ashu came to stand over her, his battle-ax in hand. "FILTHY!"

"Go to hell!" Kei snapped and Ouga slapped her, drawing blood. Kei curled into a ball, to protect her baby and she gave him a venomous glare. "Why? Why are you doing this? Don't you know that my grandmother made a choice?"

"Stop talking! You don't know what you're talking about!" Ouga snapped.

"Yes, I do!" Kei cried. "I've seen her! Spoken to her! And all she wanted was for my father to live! She wanted him to live and be happy! She went with my grandfather because he made her happy!"

He throwing her into the wall greeted her words. She screamed, trying hard not to cry. "Why? Why does my grandmother mean so much to you?"

"I WAS GOING TO MARRY HER, YOU BITCH!" Ouga roared. "And she fell in love with a HUMAN! A TAKAOKA! And they gave birth to that bastard and then, he had YOU! A filthy human just like him!"

"I'm not just human." The painkillers were wearing off and the pain was coming back. "I'm Ashu, too."

"More human than anything else!" Another blow to the stomach and Kei whimpered. If this went on, she'd lose the baby. "You and your brother and father, you're all filthy humans with tainted blood!" He raised the ax. "And I'm going to wipe all of you out! ONE AT A TIME!"

Kei screamed. _SATORU!_

Kei's voice broke into Satoru's thought and she sounded panicked and scared.

"Kei…" He muttered.

"Chief, what is it?" Souta asked.

The 11 Boukengers were gathered in the salon, the Sands of Memory and Time on a table and they were trying to figure out if they should destroy it.

"I heard Kei's voice." Satoru murmured. "She's in danger."

"Where is she?" Kando asked. "Where is my nee-chan?"

"I don't know." Satoru focused harder through their bond. _Kei…_

By now, Kei had rolled around to avoid Ouga's blows and she paused. Satoru was calling for her. _Satoru! HELP!_

_Where are you? You have to tell me so I can find you._

_The tomb of the Western Ashu. There's a cave near there that he's holding me in! Please, Satoru, HELP ME!_

Satoru's eyes shot open. "I know where Kei is."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kando asked. "Let's go!"

"Hold on a second, Kando." Hikari grabbed her boyfriend's arm. "Akashi-sensei, where did Kei say she was being kept?"

"In a cave near the tomb of the Ashu of the West." Satoru replied. "She sounded really scared…like she was in pain."

Eiji sighed. "We should go." He said. "Kei is in a lot of danger."

"I don't think we should all go." Masumi said. "Some of us should stay behind in case another Precious comes on the radar."

Masumi had a point.

"Then, we'll go." Rin announced, gesturing to Tsubasa, Satoshi, Hikari and Kando. "That is, if anyone doesn't have an issue with me going to rescue my best friend."

"Why would she want to be rescued by you?" Satoshi asked. "You nearly killed her! Twice!"

Rin looked paler than usual. "I did what?"

"Satoshi, you jerk!" Hikari snapped, smacking him on the head. "Nee-chan doesn't remember doing any of those things!"

Rin sank to her knees. "I tried to kill Kei-chan?" She looked panicked and terrified. Suddenly a memory of something she couldn't have possibly done came back.

She remembered using a naginata to slash across a henshinned Kei's chest and laughing, declaring Kei dead to her and the feeling of sickness grew.

She felt sick. "What have I done?"

"Nee-chan…." Hikari murmured. "No one blames you for those things. We know you did all the things you did while you were under the sway of Yami no Yaiba. He had you completely under his control."

"That's right." Souta put his arms around Rin. "I forgive you."

Rin looked ready to cry at this point and she tore out of the room, Souta running after her. "Rin-chan, wait!"

But then, Sakura noticed that Satoru was gone. "Chief?"

"Where did he go?" Natsuki asked.

Eiji looked pale. "Kei…he went to Kei…AND HE WENT ALONE! AKASHI!"

But then, Natsuki noticed the pregnancy test Satoru had dropped. "Why would Chief have a pregnancy test?"

"Because that's not his." Tsubasa said. "Men can't get pregnant. "

Everyone stared at each other.

"It's my nee-chan's." Kando murmured. "My nee-chan is having his baby."

"Could she possibly be any more of a…" Satoshi began.

"Satoshi Akashi, if you finish that sentence, I swear to God, I am going to murder you." Kando said.

"Well, she is!"

"Satoshi, go to hell!" Kando roared. "When we get back, I'm so getting you fired!"

"My father's our boss!"

"I don't fucking care! That is my SISTER you're talking about! She's not a slut! She's IN LOVE…with YOUR father! And having his baby!"

"And making me a grandmother!" Sakura was pale. "I'm 22! And I'm going to be a grandmother!"

"So, that's why Akashi was so upset. He must have seen the test and felt the need to protect his lover and unborn child." Masumi murmured. "No wonder Kei is so panicked. Her unborn child is in danger and she's probably not in any position to protect the baby."

By now, Kei had finally managed to wriggle around enough to come loose from her bindings and was tearing out of the cave, running for her life. She could see the light.

But then, pain from her abdomen racked her body.

Kei paused and panicked, her hand sliding over her stomach. _NO!_ She gasped for breath, the pain intensifying. _I can't lose this baby!_ She could hear Ouga behind her, yelling about how she should die because of her filthy blood. Kei picked herself up and began running harder and faster. She was determined. _Ouga is not going to kill me! I WON'T LET HIM KILL MY BABY AND ME! I'm going to get out of this alive!_

Her determination to live out weighing her fear to die, Kei paused and readied herself to live up to the Takaoka name. She had no weapons, but she had her will. She would survive.

But she hadn't been properly trained and it showed. Ouga was almost overpowering, but Kei fought hard…. until the stomach pain took her over and she collapsed. She could see the first trickles of blood from between her legs. _No…_

"So, you're having another filthy child?" Ouga roared, raising his ax.

"OUGA, STOP!" Another voice caused him to freeze.

"Grandmother…" Kei murmured before her eyes shut.

Kei was losing the baby and Satoru could feel her pain. He could feel her heartbreak and her sadness. They'd never even entertained the idea of a life together (it was impossible), but he could have sworn that he felt her happiness upon learning that she was going to have a baby. He couldn't possibly imagine her actual pain, but he felt it.

He was too late. Kei had lost the baby.

Satoru's heart shattered and he would have stopped to weep for his lost child, but he could see the tomb.

"AKASHI, STOP!" Eiji shouted, catching up to him. "You can't fight Ouga alone."

"Kei lost the baby she was having." Satoru murmured. "But she still needs saving."

"WHAT?! She was having a baby?" Eiji looked thoughtful. "No wonder you were so worried."

Satoru sighed. "I know. It sounds ridiculous, bit I am in love with her…and I'm scared to death because she's scared to death." He wrung his hands. _Hold on just a little longer, Kei. I'll come and find you._

Meanwhile, Rin had locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Kei didn't need her, she reasoned. Kei needed everyone else BUT her. Souta had pounded on the door for as long as he could before she heard him give up and walk away.

She cried. Rin lay on her bed and cried until she had no more tears left in her. She sighed when the tears failed to flow and tried to ignore the cold voice of Yami no Yaiba whispering in her ear. She wanted to shut Yaiba up and out and she tried to replace his voice with Souta's…Souta's was warm and caring and made the coldness in her go away.

And that was when the taunting started. "Did you really think that you could escape from me that easily, Inou Belle?" The voice was almost cold and inhuman, not unlike Yami no Yaiba's. "Haven't you forgotten? I am a part of you and I always will be. I was born with you and I'm going to die with you. You'll never get away from me."

The darkness that lurked in the corners of the room suddenly warped and began to take on a vaguely human shape and before Rin knew it, a very familiar looking person was sitting on her dresser, dressed in dark blue and black, her hair swept up into a ponytail and a naginata in one hand. She was idly twirling the weapon until she spotted the shocked Rin and smiled.

This girl looked almost exactly like Rin, except for the madness plaguing in her eyes.

"Hello, Inou Belle." The girl said. "I'm Yami no Shizuka…in short…your worst nightmare."

"YOU!" Rin shrieked. "YOU TRIED TO RUIN MY LIFE!"

"Yup and if it wasn't' for you and your playboy boyfriend, I'd have succeeded. Although I did hear I nearly drove your father to suicide. That must have been a real shocker for your Mummy." She laughed. "I wonder if I shall drive Sou-Sou-Souta to suicide next. That would be fun."

"You demented whore!"

"Your family killed my lover! It's time for my revenge!" She chucked. "And besides…I want my body back."

"It's my body…and you can't have it!"

"Technically, it's OUR body. I shared it with you until Yaiba set me free and gave me a name, a purpose. I want it back."

"You used my memories to turn the people who care for me against me! You used my body, my face, and my voice! You used it all…to hurt the people I love!" Rin's anger at what this being had done came out in full force. "You left my best friend in a coma and because of you she's been kidnapped! Unforgivable!"

"Oh, please. Ouga kidnapped your friend…and judging by how angry he got when he learned her name, she's probably not going to make it out alive…and she's expecting…looks like Akashi is going to wind up alone like he's supposed to be…unless I finish what I started."

Rin remembered how Akashi looked and she grew furious. "You wouldn't."

"I most certainly would."

"Why? Why are you doing this to the people I love?!"

"PAYBACK! I spent twenty-two years trapped inside your body, feeding off your father's darkness and your own. And after a while, I grew sick of hearing about you and your pathetic life! So, I planted resentment for Kei in your head and heart and fed it and grew stronger myself and then came Yaiba to set me free and love me the way I wanted…dark and sexy…finally, I was free. I could do what I wanted; including slaying your family so there was no hope of you coming back. But then, there was Souta. Souta and his damned love for you. Ugh…I should have killed him on the spot if I'd known how much trouble he'd be…"

The idea of this monster with a human face laying a hand on Souta enraged Rin and with more force than she thought capable of, she stormed over to Shizuka, picked her up and threw her into the door.

Eiji was shocked when he and Satoru reached the cave and they found his mother kneeling next to an unconscious Kei, gently singing to her.

"Mother?!" Eiji cried.

Satoru's eyes widened. This must be the other Kei, Eiji's mother. She was lovely with stark white hair and clear eyes, a purplish mark beneath one eye. Her white dressed flowed around her and she looked worried.

"It seems that Ouga wants to wipe out my family line because I gave birth to you, Eiji." She smiled. "Ouga has been misinformed by Rei, I think. I wish I could have held you to me everyday, Eiji, but I watched you grow up and older, fall in love and marry, then have two wonderful children. I am happy to see you so happy." She smiled sadly. "I am not suffering where I am…but my granddaughter…she suffers more than you could imagine."

"Why, Mother? Why is Kei suffering?"

"She believes she has lost her child, which is not true. She lost one child. She also knows that she should not get so close to Satoru for she could be forced to leave him sooner than she desires, but the pull of one's soul mate is much too strong. " Kei stroked the younger Kei's hair. "Her body hurts from injury and sadness and she worries about her friends. This stress is taking a toll on her and it, not Ouga's brutality, caused her to loose her one of her twins."

Eiji wasted no time in retrieving the unconscious Kei from her grandmother's side and Satoru stroked his beloved's hair. Kei then presented her son with the Ashu Revival mirror. "Here, Eiji, take it and destroy it."

"But Mother…I can use this to bring you back!" Eiji said, softly. "I wanted to bring you here…so you can be a part of my life."

Kei smiled sadly. "I will always be with you, Eiji." She said. "I don't need to be flesh and blood to be a part of your life." The mirror was guided towards Satoru and Kei looked upon her son one more time.

"I love you, Eiji…and I will always be watching over you." With that, Kei faded away and Eiji sighed, his grip on his daughter's limp body tightening.

"Eiji…"

"Don't Akashi..." His voice was tight. "Just don't."

Hikari was mere steps away from bashing Satoshi's face in, she was so angry. "What is WRONG with you, Satoshi?" She shouted. "How could you say those awful things to nee-chan?"

Satoshi continue to delude himself into believing that he had done nothing wrong. "I think she's lying to us. I bet she really does remember and she should pay for what she's done."

"Satoshi, she is paying! She's paying with her memories, with her pain!" Hikari cried. "How could you…why…. YOU JERK!" A sharp slap across Satoshi's face drew gasps from Kando, and Tsubasa.

"Hika-chan…"Kando murmured.

"Satoshi Akashi, you don't deserve to be a Boukenger!" Hikari's eyes were tearing. "Your father would be so ashamed of you!"

"Hika-chan!" Kando yelled, grabbing his girlfriend away from the frightened Satoshi. "Hikari, stop."

Hikari shot Satoshi a nasty look. "And see, here I thought you LOVED Kei-san."

"She's a whore!" Satoshi shouted. "How can you love anyone who puts out the way Kei-sama did to my father? And now, she's having his baby! How can I respect her after she does something like that?"

"My sister is not a whore!" Kando shouted. "She loves Akashi-sama! Why shouldn't she be happy and desire to have a future and a life…a family! She deserves it!"

"Because they are over 20 years apart!" Satoshi yelled. "And how is my father supposed to help take care of my half-sibling? "

"Your jealousy sickens me." Hikari replied. "Is this how low you've sunk?"

"At least I'm not championing fucking up the timeline!"

Upon Eiji and Satoru's return to the museum, Sakura greeted them and informed them that for some reason or another, Satoshi Akashi had resigned.

"Was there some kind of fight?" Eiji asked as he placed Kei in a hospital bed and watched as the doctors hooked up machines and monitors.

"Something like that." Sakura said. "I convinced him to stay until he got back to 2031. Apparently, Kando and Hikari don't think much of him." She looked to her daughter. "What happened?"

"Ouga brutalized her." Satoru ran his hand over Kei's face, wiping some blood away. His hand came to rest on her stomach and his expression grew sad. "He tried to kill her."

A doctor came over and lifted up Kei's hospital gown to expose her stomach and spread a gel over it before bringing over an ultrasound machine.

"We're just going to check to see if she really did have a miscarriage." He informed the three as he switched the machine on and ran it gently over her stomach. Suddenly, the room fell silent as they heard a tiny heartbeat. "Ah, so she did have a miscarriage, but there's a remaining baby. I can hear the heartbeat."

Satoru's expression grew joyous and he kissed Kei's hand. He looked so happy that he was about to cry.

Sakura smiled and slipped her hand into Eiji's, resting her head on his shoulder.

Kei lay in the hospital bed for another week before they finally pulled her out of her drug-induced coma. Meanwhile, Satoshi kept his distance, Tsubasa kept watch at Kei's side to ensure that Satoru actually got some sleep, Rin was practically glued to Souta, and Eiji and Sakura learned that she was indeed with child.

Words couldn't describe what Eiji felt upon hearing the first heartbeat of his child within Sakura's body. Fatherly pride, he expected and he was so overcome with joy that he began to cry. And Sakura was sitting _right there_.

Sakura had simply smiled and said, "I love you."

He nodded and kissed her deeply. "I love you, too."

Meanwhile, Rin was desperately trying to keep Yami no Shizuka from coming out again and wreaking havoc on her life, but the task was proving difficult, for Shizuka kept appearing everywhere Rin went and usually had some sort of cryptic message for her host body.

One night, while Rin was trying to sleep, Yami no Shizuka appeared from the mirror in her room and laughed. "You know, you shouldn't be sleeping while there's an Ashu out to get Kei…"

"We don't know anything about that kind of thing." Rin was tired from running around with Hikari and Tsubasa and Kando trying to get their hands on a Precious that had come under SGS radar. Satoshi had refused to help them and that hadn't really helped much, for Kei was still in the hospital and had no idea what was going on. "That's Kei and Kando's department."

"But safeguarding that Precious Ouga had with him IS your department." Yami no Shizuka pointed out. "You might want to destroy it before, oh I don't know, Gai and Rei come out?"

"Gai and Rei?" Rin was confused.

"Ask Eiji-san." Yami no Shizuka replied. "Gai was the Ashu who murdered his father and I know he'd have problems if he came out."

"Oh…those guys." Rin sighed. "Can't this wait?"

"Not for much longer. They're set to come out in about…. an hour."

"WHAT?" 

"I don't know how much you know about Ashu, but I think Eiji is the only know who knows how." She smiled. "Bye bye!"

"Wait!" Rin threw on her clothes and ran out of her room. "Shit!" She ran to Eiji's room and banged on the door. "Takaoka-sama!"

Eiji's hair was all over his head when he answered the door. "Rin, what is it?"

"Where's the mirror!? It has to be destroyed before Gai and Rei come out!"

Eiji's jaw dropped. "GAI!?" he yelled, waking Sakura.

"Takaoka-san, what is it?"

"Sakura, I'll be right back." Eiji said. "Rin, what do you know about Gai and Rei?"

"Not much, only that they'll be reborn in about an hour."

"AN HOUR!" Eiji was infuriated and he wasted no time in grabbing the SagaSniper in his room and charging out of it and running faster than Rin thought possible.

"Told you he'd be angry." Yami no Shizuka's voice sang from a corner shadow.

"Be quiet. Why are you helping me?"

"I've got no choice. I can't fully leave your body and I can't go back into it, so I might as well do something constructive with my time. Hard to be evil if I'm stuck forming from damn shadows all the time!"

"Serves you right! Look at all the pain you caused!"

Yami no Shizuka scoffed and then seconds later the shattering of glass could be heard. "Mission complete." Rin muttered before heading back to her bedroom.

Natsuki sighed as she put down the pregnancy test. Another negative. She figured that maybe if she waited and didn't put so much pressure on Masumi to perform she'd have the family she dreamed of. Yeah, that might do the trick. She envied Sakura. She was getting Kei sooner than she thought she would. But she knew Rin would come when she was ready.

"We need a plan to defeat Ouga." Tsubasa said to Hikari and Kando as the three sat in the salon. "And we need one NOW, in case Kei-san never wakes up."

"I don't know much about Ashu sealing." Kando admitted. "Dad never got around to telling us all that stuff."

"Then we must find your Dad or…use the one we have here to seal him up."

"Thank goodness Takaoka-sama destroyed the mirror." Hikari said. "One Ashu is all we can take at this point."

"Yeah…" Rin muttered as she came into the room. "Thank goodness."

"Nee-chan." Hikari said. "Is everything all right?"

"It's fine." Rin didn't want to say anything about Yami no Shizuka. "Everything's fine. So, what kind of plan are you thinking of, Tsubasa?"

"I don't know yet, Rin, but I know it has to involve Takaoka-sama, since he's the only one who can seal Ashu." Tsubasa sighed. "I wonder if Kei-sama's all right."

Kei awoke with a jolt, gagging and leaning over to puke into a bucket, waking Satoru up and causing him to lean over.

"Kei!"

She gagged, puked more and groaned. "Chiefu…"

"Satoru, remember?" He rubbed her back. "How do you feel?"

"Sick." She replied.

"Of course, you're pregnant, remember. I sat right here and heard the beat of our baby's heart."

"But our baby's…"

"We were having twins. One child survived." He smiled. "I'm so happy you're all right." He kissed her hand. "Can you believe it, Kei? The ultimate symbol of our love for each other is coming…" His hand slid over her stomach and rubbed it.

Kei smiled weakly before leaning over to puke again. After a moment, she sat up again. "I'm still pregnant?"

"That's the idea." Satoru smiled. "And with that idea in mind…I had Souta do me a nice little favor…" He presented Kei with a small velvet box and opened it to reveal a silver band with a blood red stone. "Kei Takaoka…will you marry me?"

Kei gasped, her hand sliding over her mouth. "Satoru…"

His eyes were tearing. "Kei-chan…you have to admit that our connection is deep, profound…something really special. I think of you as the Ultimate treasure. Something I've waited my whole life to find. It's only fair that I get to keep you."

She began to cry and her response was a choked cry. "Yes." She gasped and let him slid the ring on her finger. "Yes Satoru Akashi, I will marry you!" She sobbed and threw her arms around him, hugging her to him. She was so happy that she couldn't contain her tears.

"Finally…" He murmured. "Finally, all of my dreams are going to come true."

Meanwhile, from a dark corner of the room, Yami no Shizuka watched and groaned. "Ouga's only going to exploit this relationship, you know…oh well…. it's your mutual funeral."


	15. Love So Sweet And So Deadly

Chapter 14:

Love So Sweet…And So Deadly

The news of Kei's engagement to Satoru inspired joy in Tsubasa, Kando, Hikari and Rin, but rage in Satoshi. After all, his boss was about to become his new stepmother…before he was even born!

Kando, on the other hand, couldn't be happier for his big sister. Kei finally had a prince to call her very own and was getting everything she deserved. He didn't mind that she'd have to choose between her life as a Boukenger and a life with Satoru and her unborn child. He knew it was coming and he was worried for his sister, but even if he never saw her again, he'd be safe in the knowledge that she was happy with the love of her life.

2031 Eiji had somehow found out about his only daughter getting ready to marry Satoru and he was unsure how to feel. He was happy to hear that his daughter was going to be married, but he wasn't sure if Satoru was the right man for her. Then he remembered the reaction Kei had felt when Satoru had been tortured and realized that only a soulmate could feel that way. He sighed. He was going to lose his daughter, but he couldn't think of a better man to lose her to.

2006 Eiji, on the other hand, was not quite so happy. He asked Kei all sorts of questions, most of which she hadn't thought of yet. He wasn't sure if he WANTED Kei to spend the rest of her life with Satoru. "You could do better than Akashi."

"He completes me." Kei primly told her father." I couldn't think of a better match for myself."

"I bet I could." Eiji muttered.

"Takaoka-san, Kei is happy. Can't you be happy for her?" Sakura asked, giving her husband a playful smack on his back.

"We're getting married and you're having my baby and STILL you call me 'Takaoka-san'. Sakura, really…"

"Only when we're in public." She told him calmly.

Eiji groaned.

"Does he make you happy, Kei?" Sakura asked, turning to Kei, who was still in bed in the hospital.

Kei thought of the unparalleled happiness and joy she'd been feeling since meeting Satoru and how he'd turned her world upside down in the best possible way. She knew that this was the man meant for her and NOT marrying him seemed like such a silly thing to do.

Natsuki's sudden entrance into the room prevented Kei from answering. "Natsuki is SO happy that Chief is getting married to Kei-chan!" She hugged Kei. "The only thing that would make her happier is if her Rin-chan married Souta-san!"

"Natsuki, you really shouldn't think of such wild ideas." Masumi warned. "Souta might take you seriously. You know how he loves to make girls happy."

Meanwhile, Rin and Souta were having lunch at a ramen stand, happily talking and eating.

"It's so good to hear that my best friend is going to spend her life with someone she loves. After Kai died, I was so worried about her because of the way she acted. She was so much like Sakura: cold, distant, emotionally unavailable…I worried for her." She smiled. "I'm so happy! Kei is getting married…" She pouted briefly. "I can't wait until I get married. I've always wanted to get marred and have my own family. It seems like that dream seems further and fur-"

Souta presenting her with gold ring with a blue and black stone on it cut off her words. He smiled.

"Souta-sensei…"

"Let me make your dreams come true, Rin-chan."

And so, with the news of Souta and Rin's engagement, the happiness grew. But then, the general feeling of happiness that had been spreading through SGS museum was suddenly cut short by a reappearance of Ouga. Kei couldn't let that go, but she and Sakura found out rather quickly the strain the Neo-Parallel Engines put on their expectant bodies.

Sakura couldn't even get into the AccellSuit without feeling like she was about to faint and Kei's suit just made her faint. She was BoukenRed for two seconds before she collapsed into her brother's arms.

Makino-sensei informed them that they'd never tested the devices on expectant women before and that it could be dangerous.

Sakura and Kei immediately understood, but Kei had some reluctance. Ouga was part of her mission. But the safety of her child was more important right then and there and she did want it to survive. But she hated staying behind on missions just because she was expecting Satoru's child. What worth did she have if she wasn't an adventurer?

"You shouldn't push yourself, Kei." Satoru murmured one night as he brought her some cookies and milk. "Our baby's fragile at this stage…heck, he's fragile at any stage."

"Ouga is still out there, determined to destroy my entire family line just because he lost my grandmother to my grandfather and he's a sore loser." Kei sighed, taking a nibble of a cookie. "Defeating him and bringing Dad home is a part of my mission. I have to see it through. And I'm young…I can always have another baby."

Satoru stroked her hair. "Be careful."

"Aren't I always?"

"So basically, Kei can't use the Accellular again until she's not having the baby?" Rin asked. She sounded skeptical about suddenly being thrust into the spotlight as the de-facto leader. "And because I'm the sub-chief…"

"You're the new leader…Chief." Makino-sensei informed them with a small hint of a smile.

"Me?" Rin was surprised. "But…I'm not really…I can't …you couldn't possibly ask me to…"

"Go for it, nee-chan!" Hikari encouraged.

"Yes, Rin-san, we believe in you." Kando's smile was warm.

Tsubasa nodded and gave her a thumbs-up in response. Satoshi, still steamed over the fact that Kei was going to be his stepmother, said nothing. The others were used to that.

"Kei's not too happy about being told that she can't be a Boukenger, is she?" Rin asked. "She seemed a little upset."

"She is, but she understands…her baby has to take priority."

Kei wasn't about to sit around and be a human incubator for nine months, so she did some checking and found a yet to be discovered Precious: the Venus Hand Mirror.

The Bonus: It was a Takaoka family heirloom.

The Venus Hand Mirror was an heirloom owned by her great, great, great, great Aunt Ayumi Takaoka and it blessed women with eternal beauty and passion and love, as long as it was kept away from evil. And in a Takaoka born woman, it would guarantee her a passionate, wonderful marriage. It was a useful item…and a dangerous precious, because in the hands of evil, it could zap the youth and beauty of any woman within a five-mile radius.

It hadn't been found yet because her father had lost the records as to where it had been kept and he'd not cared much for his family history. It was akin to allowing him to read a Harry potter book (there were rumors that J.K. Rowling herself worked for SGS Europe…the mentions of the many Precious in her books couldn't go ignored) and then convincing him that the books weren't real…fruitless.

Kei knew from her extensive readings that the Venus Hand Mirror was kept in the last place a Takaoka would look: a Tomb of Ashu, specifically, a tomb of Southern Ashu. So, without saying a word to anyone, Kei "borrowed" GouGou Jet and flew it to the tomb of the Southern Ashu.

She had to admire the family talent for sealing away Ashu. It must have taken a lot to seal the Ashu of the South away, for it was the area where Gai, the Furious Demon God, had come from and he had been the sole survivor.

_And my family's greatest failure._ She thought to herself as she entered the dark cave. It had taken three generations of trying before her father had finally destroyed him. Both her great grandfather and her grandfather had fallen to him.

Kei sighed, feeling a little tired. Sharing her body with another life form was hard work. She sat down on the ground for a little while, before the shimmering of blue light near the back of the cave caught her eye.

_The Venus Hand Mirror!_ Kei was excited, for with the mirror in hand, she was guaranteed a good marriage. She had to be careful though…Ashu spirits tended to be vengeful, especially when a Takaoka was around. Quickly, carefully, she grabbed the mirror and was about to exit the cave when a chilling voice spoke up behind her. "Well, this time, I'll be sure to really take you out."

And then, darkness claimed her, the mirror still clutched to her chest.

It didn't take long for the others to figure out that Kei had gone out and gotten into something with Ouga for it wasn't like her not to check in…especially when it was well known that she shouldn't have been out in the first place.

"She said she didn't want to be thought of as a human incubator for nine months, so she wanted to be useful while she could." Kando explained. "I don't blame her, really."

"She went after a Precious by herself! Was she trying to get killed?" Eiji cried. "What if she gets hurt?"

"Knowing Ouga, he plans to do more than just hurt her." Kando pointed out.

Satoru felt this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach and he was now worried beyond comprehension. _Kei…_

And then he felt it. He felt the horrible feeling akin to one's heart being torn out of one's chest while it was still beating. He felt half of himself die in the brief flash of a second.

It could only mean one thing.

Kei, his beloved Kei… was dead.

He'd been so close to finally achieving his dreams, everything had been perfect…and Ouga had taken the one thing he loved away from him. Satoru, in shock because he'd lost something that had meant more to him than anything else, slid down to the floor, pale and on the verge of crying.

Kando knew what the look on his face meant. "Oh god…"

"What is it?" Rin asked. "Kando, what's wrong."

Kando, arm shaking, pointed at Satoru. "Look at his face."

Rin looked, confused and then interpreted the expression. She gasped. "No…"

Satoru wasn't openly crying over Kei, but tears were making their way down his face.

The slow shockwave of Kei's death was quietly spreading through the room and no one was sure how to feel, except for Yami no Shizuka, who managed to make her presence known from a mirror.

"I hate it when I'm right." Yami no Shizuka muttered, vanishing as quickly as she'd appeared.

Satoru clutched at his chest, his heart hurting with every breath he took. Kei was dead and gone and so was their unborn baby.

And with her, died all his hope.


	16. One Ring To Rule Them All

Chapter 15:

One Ring To Rule Them All

Ouga had to give himself credit, the plan he'd cooked up for Kei was one of the best ones yet. He'd trapped her soul and made it appear as though she'd died, when really, her soul was gone. The inner mechanics of her body were still going. He didn't care. He'd gotten rid of another filthy Takaoka. Now all that was left was her brother and her dirty father.

Kando was weeping into Hikari's shoulder. His nee-chan was gone. She'd lost her life to Ouga and all Kando could do was cry and once he was finished, he would take revenge. Kei's death couldn't go unpunished. He'd avenge his sister.

"Kando-kun, I know you miss Kei-sama, but you can't go fight Ouga." Hikari said, tugging on her boyfriend's jacket. "He took your father out!"

"I owe it to my nee-chan! I have to avenge her death." 

"But Kando…"

"No, Hika-chan! I owe it to her…to our family!"

"But, Kando… I don't want something to happen to you too." She looked worried and scared and so vulnerable. "Please…don't go to Ouga. I bet he's waiting for you and Takaoka-sama. I'm already grieving for Kei-sama. I don't want to grieve for you, too." She wouldn't let go of the shiny silver sleeve. "Please, Kando! Please…don't do this."

Kando looked at her and smiled. "Hika-chan…. I'll be back. I promise you that I'll be back."

Sakura lay on her bed, clutching her stomach and wept. Her daughter had been killed at Ouga's hands. She wondered if the same fate awaited the Unborn Kei.

"I'm going to avenge Kei, Sakura." Eiji told her, rubbing her back. "Kando and I, we're going together."

"No!" Sakura sat up, scared to death. "Don't you DARE! It's a trap and she is the bait!"

"I want to be able to bury my daughter." Eiji murmured quietly. "I want to give her to my older self so he can go and bury her. "

"Takaoka-san, please." Sakura murmured. "Don't go after Ouga. Don't leave me alone to raise our child by myself."

"Sakura…I have to… sealing Ashu is my life duty. " He kissed her forehead. "I'll be back."

Satoru's heart was in so much pain that he could hardly breathe. The wound Kei's death had caused was so big that he was almost certain that it would never, ever heal. He'd lost everything in a brief second and nothing could ever be done to fix it.

That was when the anger and rage began. Satoru was filled with fury and hate at the Ashu, the monster who'd destroyed everything he had. And he was determined to get it all back. Or at least get some closure.

He knew nothing about Ashu. He didn't care. The Immortal Fang would have his revenge.

Tsubasa and Satoshi sat in the salon, sipping tea.

"I bet you wish that you didn't call Kei a whore." Tsubasa said to Satoshi. "Now she's dead and you'll never get to apologize."

"I have no regrets." Satoshi said. "My love for her was already dead."

"You were just jealous that it was your father who snagged Kei. And she's DEAD! Show some respect for her brother and parents who are grieving for her! Show some respect for your father, who loved her!"

Satoshi grumbled something and turned away. "Shut up."

"You shut up, you jerk!" Tsubasa shouted. "Kei is dead! She's gone! And we're all feeling it! Except you because you're too jealous and hurt over the fact that it was your father who snared Kei! Show some goddamn respect for your father and her family by shutting your damn mouth!"

"I feel bad for our Rin-chan." Natsuki said as she and Masumi lay on their bed. "She's really suffering."

"They are best friends." Masumi said. "I'd be upset, too if someone close to me suddenly died." He hugged her. "I certainly hope Akashi isn't going to do something stupid. I know how he loved Kei, but this is ridiculous. He shouldn't put his life in danger."

"Chief won't do something silly." Natsuki assured him. "I wonder what our Rin is up to now…. I hope she's all right…"

Rin was sobbing into Souta's chest until she had no tears left in her eyes and Souta wouldn't let go of her.

"It's all right, Rin-chan." He murmured. "It'll be all right."

"WHY?!" Rin shouted. "WHY?! Why did she do that! WHY?! HOW COULD SHE GO AND DIE AND JUST LEAVE US LIKE THIS?! She was supposed to be there when I married you. She promised she would! She promised!" She began banging on his chest. "We pinky swore when we were children." Rin wiped her eyes. "I was going to be Kyoko's godmother. She promised."

"Kyoko?" Souta asked.

"Yes…Kei was convinced she was having a daughter and in honor of Satoru's friend, she was going to name her daughter Kyoko." Rin explained. She wiped her eyes. "She was so determined to bring me back from Yami no Yaiba's grasp. I almost killed her and she was determined to bring me back. She knew I was still alive in there, that I, Rin Inou had not been lost in the darkness." Rin stopped to choke out another sob. "I nearly killed her and she never gave up on me. That was how I knew I had a real friend in her."

Souta understood. "I get it, you miss her." He held her to him. "I do, too…"

Rin wept. "Why…why did he have to kill her? What did she do to him?"

Meanwhile, Satoru had joined Kando and Eiji on their Ouga-hunting expedition. "I still think you should stay behind, Akashi." Eiji said. "You don't know a thing about Ashu."

"He murdered Kei." Satoru's voice was flat. "I want his head."

"Dad don't try to talk him out of it. " Kando said. "Nee-chan meant everything to him and she's not with him anymore. It's only normal that he'd want Ouga's head."

Satoru stared at the BoukenBou in his hand and his grip tightened on it. He didn't need to explain the pain that he felt when he felt Kei die. His fury over her murder had overridden his common sense. Kei deserved to have her death avenged.

"Akashi-sama…" Kando said, softly, but his voice failed. He couldn't fully understand what was driving Satoru, but he knew it had to be love. He remembered Hikari begging him not to leave, and he remembered the fear and pain in her eyes at the idea of losing him. Kando looked at his father. "Dad…I don't think I can do this. Hika-chan begged me not to go."

"Why do you call her Hika-chan? Her real name isn't even Hikari…it's Aurora, isn't it?" Eiji asked, trying to ignore the murderous look Satoru had on his face.

"Hikari is a nickname her mother came up with because Aurora is too hard to say for some people." Kando explained. "He calls herself Hika-chan and lets me call her that." He sighed. "She looked so scared…" The image of Hikari's scared eyes popped into his head and the guilt began.

"Kando…" Eiji felt for his son and he remembered how scared Sakura had looked.

Satoru scoffed. "Wait until he uses them against you."

"Akashi-sama…" Kando murmured.

"Let's go." Eiji announced. "I think I know where Kei went. We can start there."

Tsubasa and Rin had met in the salon after Satoshi had left, and Rin was still sniffling. "Akashi-sama has gone with Kando and Takaoka-sama to defeat Ouga. He's going to get himself killed."

"Did they try to stop him?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yes, but Akashi-sama would not be swayed. He lost someone who meant the world to him."

Tsubasa sighed. "You know, out of those three, he knows the least about Ashu and for him, it's probably the most dangerous mission he's ever undertook. But for Kei, he must think it's worth it." Tsubasa looked at Rin closely for a moment.

"Are you going to be okay, Rin?" he asked.

Rin shook her head. "Tsubasa, I don't think I'll ever be okay, again."

Meanwhile, Natsuki was out shopping for a wedding dress for her own wedding, but her mind kept straying from the dresses to the thought of Chief and his lost dreams. She wondered how excited he'd been when he learned that Kei was pregnant with his child and how much happiness he had to have felt when Kei agreed to be his wife. She sighed. She felt guilty for all of her dreams were coming true, but Chief's had been destroyed.

"Natsuki, we don't have to do this now." Masumi said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We can wait."

"Natsuki feels guilty for being happy when Chief's in so much pain." She said, putting a dress on a rack. "Chief's waited his whole life for a special treasure and he found it in Kei-chan, only to loose her and all his hopes and dreams…Natsuki wishes she could change time and make it right."

Masumi sighed. He really wanted to stop hearing about Kei. Yes, it was sad that she'd died and taken Akashi's child with her, but he knew dwelling on it would not help them. They had to be strong and survive because it would be what she wanted. Kei wouldn't want them to spend so much time mourning her. But he knew better than to tell anyone that for fear of being called heartless.

The cave that comprised the tomb of the Southern Ashu was slightly damp and desolate when Satoru and Eiji entered the place, to find walls covered with Ashu sealing symbols.

Suddenly, Satoru spotted Kei's torn SGS jacket…the Accellular still in the sleeve and next to it was the still intact Venus Hand Mirror. He ran his fingers over the torn jacket and fought back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes.

"So she was here." Eiji muttered. "But where is she now?"

"Why are we even looking?" Satoru asked. "All we'll find his her body."

"Because I would like it very much if we could bury her." Eiji replied. "I thought you would like that one final chance to say goodbye to the woman you loved."

Satoru clutched the torn jacket to his chest along with the mirror. "Eiji, what's this?" he asked, then holding the mirror up.

"The Venus Hand Mirror…. it's a family heirloom of mine." Eiji examined the mirror. "Why was Kei looking for this…oh, wait…"

"What?"

"…this mirror, in the hands of a Takaoka woman, guarantees her a happy, loving marriage. Venus was the roman goddess of love, after all. She came to get this so she would be blessed with a good marriage to you…she was thinking, as almost always…of you."

Satoru started crying again. Eiji sighed.

"Dad, Ouga left something behind." Kando said, popping out of an adjacent cave. "Come back here and look."

Eiji and Satoru came back and Satoru gasped in shock.

The cave was large and circular, with sunlight beaming down from above, perfectly illuminating the stone slab in the middle of it and the equally stone body.

It was Kei.

Kei was lying on the slab as though it was a coffin, her body completely stone…but it was her.

Satoru's heart went from merely broken to shattered in three seconds. Kei was as good as dead.

"He took her soul and turned her body to stone." Kando said. "How determined to wipe us out is he?"

"Very determined." Eiji muttered. "So he started with my daughter."

"Aptly named after the Ashu he loved and lost to my grandfather." Kando muttered. He sighed. "How do we fix this?"

"We defeat Ouga and hope Kei's baby hasn't died in the womb." Eiji added.

Satoru was silent; he just fingered the jacket and the mirror. He wondered if Kei was still alive in the stone body and he approached it slowly.

He touched the stone hair and features of the woman he'd loved with all of his heart and whispered. "Don't worry, Kei…I'll rescue you…I promise." He kissed the cold stone lips and tried to keep it together. "I promise you…"

"Akashi, go back to the museum." Eiji said. "You're of no use here. Please…go get some rest."

"I'm not going to rest while Kei lies here stone dead." Satoru snapped. "She wouldn't…"

"She would want YOU to rest." Kando murmured. "Please, Akashi-sama…"

Tracking down Ouga was harder than the others thought it would be, since Ouga was, after all, a very tricky bastard and finding him was no going to be easy. But then again, dealing with the growing tide of emotion that was threatening to overpower them all was no walk in the park itself.

Everyone, with the exception of Satoshi, was snapping at everyone else. The tiniest things set people off. Rin was so consumed with her grief that she kept shrieking at everyone and Souta kept trying to calm her down. Kando proved to have his father's temper and Tsubasa kept snapping at anyone who got in his way. Hikari was the only one who kept her head on through the entire thing.

Hikari decided to put her thinking cap on and think things through. Surprisingly, she came up with something.

"Kei-san's Ashu Technique!" Hikari announced, holding up a tape recorder with the SGS logo on it. "The Siren's Song!"

"You're actually going to use that?" Kando asked. "Hika-chan, I know it SOUNDS like a good idea, but you forgot about the dangers of that…"

"I'd like to see one of you come up with something better!" Hikari snapped. "We have to use her song! It's the only way I can think of that could POSSIBLY bring Ouga down. So, unless someone's got another idea…"

"It's a long shot…. but it could work" Kando said. "Nee-chan's voice did have the power to entrance anyone… and if she didn't come up with a command, the victim was left in a stupor."

"That's the idea." Hikari said. "That's why Kei-san made the recording." But Hikari bit her lower lip. "But, I don't even know if this will work against other Ashu." She admitted. "But, what have we got to lose?"

"Our lives." Satoshi muttered.

"Quiet, Satoshi." Rin snapped. "My baby sis is right. We don't have much to lose by taking a chance on Kei's voice."

Kando sighed. "The last thing my sister will ever give us…" He took the tape recorder from Hikari and clutched it to his chest. "…her song. Her siren song. I guess no one else will ever hear her sing."

"And that the pitch she sings at in this tape, who'd want to?" Tsubasa asked. "I mean, I wouldn't like it if I heard a beautiful voice and then fell into a trance…" He froze at the murderous glare Kando was giving him.

"Why must you be so negative!?" Hikari asked Tsubasa. "At least I came up with something! What did you come up with?"

At Tsubasa's silence, Hikari scoffed. "Just as I thought."

"Hikari, no snapping." Rin warned. "We need to keep morale up."

"How do we lure Ouga out?" Satoshi asked, stunning everyone into silence. He was actually contributing to the conversation!

Hikari looked at her boyfriend. "We have the best kind of bait with us." Her voice was sad. "It's not one I want to use but…" She sighed. "Kando…"

"…Hika-chan…"

"Kando, there really is no other way…"

Kando looked at the tape recorder and at his beloved Hika-chan and his heart grew heavy. "Okay…I'll be the bait."

Hikari hugged Kando as tightly as she could. "I'm sorry."

"Eh, don't be. I'll be okay."

Hikari disliked the idea of going around and using her Kando as bait to lure out Ouga, but since the Takaoka bloodline was his target, she knew there really was no way around it. She sighed. "All right, then, we use Kando as bait and when he's within range, we blast the tape. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Rin agreed. "Good work, Hika-chan."

Hikari's heart kept sinking into her stomach and she smiled weakly. "Thanks, nee-chan."

Satoru lay on his side in bed, admiring the pictures of him and Kei that had been taken in various photo booths. He wasn't comforted by the fact that Kei wasn't dead. Her stone face did little to ease his pain. He sighed.

"What am I going to do?" he murmured. "What if the spell can't be broken?"

"You're going to live, Satoru." Another voice spoke up. "You're going to live and go on…"

Satoru couldn't believe his ears. The voice sounded so familiar, like a lullaby he'd heard long ago. He sat up and looked in the doorway and there, was Kyoko, a smile on her face.

"Kyoko?" He had to be dreaming. She was dead. She'd been dead for years.

"Satoru!" She smiled and moved to embrace him to her. Her arms felt warm and alive and she smiled. "Oh, Satoru, it's so good to be with you!"

He picked her up and twirled her around. "Kyoko! Am I dreaming?"

She smiled sadly. "I can't tell you…" Her hand came up to brush at his hair. "You haven't changed at all, Satoru. Just as handsome as ever. "

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"To encourage you." She smiled. "Isn't that what I've always done? I miss you so much Satoru…. and I forgive you."

"What?"

"I knew you tried to save us. Satoru." She replied. "I know you tried to get help…. so I don't blame you at all. I love you. I always will…but there's someone here who loves you more…she may be stone, but her love for you is strong and pure."

"Kei…"

Kyoko smiled. "I'm so glad to see you so happy, Satoru…I thought you'd never ever get over me. And now, that you're going to have a baby…" Kyoko squealed. "Oh, it's everything I ever dreamed of with you."

Satoru's guilt throbbed in his heart and he sighed. "I don't think I'll be able to save her in time to see the birth of my son."

"Daughter." Kyoko corrected and she sighed. "Anyway, I am here to remind you that all is not lost. If you persevere, like you've always done, everything will turn out right and you will be happy. I promise you that, my Satoru. You deserve happiness, my Satoru…and I promise that you will get it." She kissed his cheek before seeming to fade away. "I promise…"

Her voice was echoing in his mind as Satoru's eyes closed and then opened and he sat up. _A dream?_

He thought of the sight of Kei's bathroom, the blood, the broken glass, the pregnancy test. He thought of her stone face, the way she'd been spread out on the slab, and then he thought of the last time he'd seen her alive. He thought of her smile, her beauty, and the warmth she'd brought to his life. And he thought how lonely he'd been since losing Kyoko and how lonely he'd be if the spell could not be broken. He never wanted to feel that loneliness again.

He thought of the house he wanted to buy for Kei, the life and happiness he wanted to give her and even of the nursery for their daughter. He picked up his Accellular and looked at the picture of him and Kei stuck to it. He gripped it tightly. He would fight for her until he had nothing left in him to fight with.

And already, the Fiery Adventurer was forming a plan.

He picked up the wedding band he had picked out for himself and looked at the inscription.

"One ring to rule them all…"


	17. Forever Boukenger

Chapter Sixteen:

Forever Boukenger

Everything was coming together now. The New Generation had a plan to bring down Ouga, and based on what Satoru had overheard, it was a pretty good one. Hikari had somehow obtained a recording of Kei performing her Ashu technique…something called "The Siren's Song" and they were using Kando as bait to lure the Western Ashu out before knocking him cold with the recording and then calling in 2031 Eiji to help Kando with the sealing.

It was good in theory, but Satoru had fought Ashu enough to know that once defeated, they discarded their bodies to become larger and then what?

The New Generation, however skilled they may be, and however advanced they may be due to their time, didn't know the things about the GouGou Vehicles and the various formations that Satoru did. He was willing to do something he'd tried before, but never fully accomplished.

SirenBuilder had a very unique feature on it: the Suicide Button. He was going to pilot the Builder, detonate the device and hope he got out of the cockpit in time.

_More like pray, really._ He thought to himself as he watched the new Gen Boukengers leave with the older generation in tow, including Sakura, who refused to be left out of the fight.

That gave him time as he tucked Kei's Accellular into his pocket and snuck away towards the vehicle bay to lie in wait. The last time he planned on using that button, he'd almost killed himself.

This time, he planned his ejection beforehand to avoid certain death. He would not die before making it back to Kei.

"I still think that putting my son in this kind of danger is ridiculous." 2031 Eiji had taken some hard looking, but he'd been found and was on hand in case he was needed. "Who's brilliant idea WAS this?"

"Mine." Hikari replied, curtly. "Do you have a better idea, Takaoka-sama? It's your family he's after! Look at what happened to Kei-san! He took her soul and turned her body into stone! Do you really want that sort of fate to befall you? Or Nishihori-san? Do you think I WANT to put Kando in this sort of dangerous situation? I don't! I am in LOVE with Kando! I don't want to do this to him! I don't want anything to happen to him! But…we have no choice. Kando just happens to be who Ouga's after. And using him as bait, because Ouga assumes he's not as clever as you or your younger self, Takaoka-san, is our only option."

"And you went along with this, Kando?" 2031 Eiji questioned his son.

"Well, Dad, Hika-chan has a point." Kando said. "There is really no one else who could do this."

"I don't like it." 2031 Eiji said.

"Neither do I." 2006 Eiji added. "But, Hikari really does have a good point. We've got no choice but to go along with this."

Kando clutched the tape recording to him and sighed. He looked at the horizon and then at Hikari and his father. He smiled. "Saving nee-chan is most important. Don't worry about me…I'll be okay."

"I hope so." 2031 Eiji muttered.

Time was running out for Kei, even though none of them knew it.

The other Boukengers shrank away to hide and wait for Ouga to appear.

Sakura had to kneel very carefully, her hand protectively moving to her stomach and the Boukengers peeked over the rocks as Kando stood there, taunting Ouga.

It did not take long for him to appear.

"Another Takaoka!" Ouga seemed pleased. "You're just lining up for suicide, aren't you?" He moved closer. "Pity about your sister."

Kando smirked. "No…pity about you." He held up the tape recorder and pressed, "play"…shouting "EARPLUGS!"

Almost on cue, the hiding Boukengers shoved earplugs in their ears and waited for Kei's song to finish.

The resulting sound was a beautiful, yet piercing song (Namie Amuro's "Come") and almost immediately, Ouga fell into a stupor, his battle-axe falling to the ground.

Kando knew an opportunity when he saw it and dropped the tape recorder, and managed to pick up the battle axe (it was heavier than he thought) before managing to shove Ouga in the stomach with it.

Suddenly, Ouga shouted and began to dissolve into purple smoke. Kando affixed the Ashu with a hard gaze. "THAT is for my nee-chan."

"You son of a bitch!" Ouga yelled.

"Takes one to know one." Kando taunted as he pulled the battle-axe out.

Ouga wasted no time in discarding his body to enlarge himself and Kando backed up, grabbing the tape recorder and turning it off.

He sighed. "Well…."

Suddenly, Makino-sensei's voice came through 2006 Eiji's GouGou Changer. "Eiji, Siren Builder's gone missing and so has Red-kun."

"He wouldn't…" Eiji muttered, but right on cue, SirenBuilder came into the picture, holding Ouga back.

"CHIEF!" Sakura shrieked.

Within the cave, Kei's stone body began to shimmer and just like that, the spell was broken and she was flesh and blood and heartbeat.

Kei gasped for breath as she sat up, her hand on her stomach. "Oh my god…" She murmured. She laughed. "I'm alive!"

She then heard a great commotion outside and saw the fight between SirenBuilder and Ouga and then she spotted the people she cared for standing there…and Satoru was not with them.

Her heart plummeted into her stomach.

"Oh no…" She murmured, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the small SGS symbol and putting it up to her ear. "Sargess Remote" The little symbol whirled around a bit before becoming into a headset and attaching itself to her ear and her mouth. She sighed and thought carefully about what she was going to do.

_I'm sorry, Kyoko." _She thought to her unborn infant. _But your father is a stubborn as he is wonderful._ "Voyager! Undock!"

"What do we do now?" Hikari asked her sister.

"Kando, I hope you don't mind piloting Kei's spot in the DaiBouken cockpit." Rin said. "I think showing out parents what we can do by way of mecha would be a good idea." She pulled out her Accellular and smirked. "Ready?"

The other four smiled. "Ready!"

"Boukenger!"

"GouGou Changer!"

"Start up!"

"What do you want us to do, Rin-san?" Tsubasa asked.

Rin smirked behind her helmet and pressed a button.

"Gattai Shift On! Dump…Formula…Gyro…Dozer…Marine…Bouken Formation!"

The five remaining new gen Boukenger boarded the machine in record time with the Bouken Drivers. "DaiBouken, Gattai Complete! First Gear In!"

Eiji looked to Sakura. "Now I know the doctor told you that you couldn't fight anymore…"

"Shut up and get in DaiTanken, Eiji…start up!"

"Gattai Shift On! Drill…Shovel…Mixer…Crane…Jet! Bouken Formation 2!"

"DaiTanken, Gattai Complete! First Gear In!"

"So, what, we fight?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yup…" Rin was smiling "We fight…for Kei-chan!"

Even for three powerful Mechas, Ouga was proving to be a difficult opponent and Satoru has suggested using Voyager, only to be told that Voyager was missing by Mr. Voice.

"What do you mean it's missing, Mr. Voice?" Rin had asked as she struggled to keep DaiBouken upright as Ouga knocked it around.

Sakurako sounded as worried as Rin did and then her panic grew as she heard screams. "Voyager has already been summoned, but not by an Accellular. It was summoned by some sort of remote."

"A remote, nee-chan?" Hikari asked. "Who would have a remote?"

"My nee-chan had one, remember?" Kando piped up, shouting as Ouga battered the mecha again.

"That's right! The Sargess Remote!" Satoshi added. "She's the only one who would know how to use Voyager, too, right?"

"What are all of you talking about?" Sakura shouted, as DaiTanken was bashed around.

"Kei is the only one of us with DaiVoyager training!" Rin yelled. "So, if she summoned Voyager by remote…then that means…"

They never got the chance to finish it for a pair of very large roller hands knocked into Ouga's back and attached to those hands was DaiVoyager…piloted by Kei…who was extremely pissed off.

A few more punches with the roller hands and Kei's voice, strained, but it was still very much her voice, came through the speakers on DaiTanken, SirenBuilder and DaiBouken. "I know…" she paused to gasp for air. "…his weak point."

"Kei-chan, are you all right?" Rin asked.

"Shut up and listen to me!" Kei barked, and she wheezed. "His weak spot is in the middle of his stomach. If we can hurt him there, my dad can seal him away and then we're…we're…done." She kept panting for air.

"What have we got to lose?" Natsuki asked. "Natsuki is going for it!"

"Hikari is going for it, too!"

Rin shrugged. "Rin is going too! Ready!"

2036 Eiji smiled and finished scribbling down the runes he needed to seal up Ouga and gave DaiVoyager a thumbs up.

Kei took that as a cue to make the first move. "Adventure Double Screw!"

"Adventure Drive!"

"Bouken Flash"

"Tripliquid Bomber!"

Ouga stood no chance against four attacks and he was destroyed.

"Dad!" Kei yelled. "NOW!"

2036 Eiji smiled. "Ashu! Commence!"

And just like that…he was gone.

"Whooo-hooo!" Kando cheered, jumping up and down in his seat. "YES!"

Eiji pumped his fists in the air. "YES!"

There was a general roar of celebration, except from DaiVoyager.

"Kei, what's…" Satoru froze and he hollered. "KEI!"

Kei had collapsed in the cockpit of the massive mecha; her body slumped over the BoukenDriver.

Kando gasped. "Oh my goodness, nee-chan!"

When Kei opened her eyes again, she was yet again in the hospital. She was getting sick of seeing this ceiling. "No pain killers please." She muttered. "I'm pregnant."

"Kei…"

The female Fiery Adventurer turned her head a little to the left and saw Satoru sitting beside her, clutching her hand in his own. "Don't tell me…" She murmured. "I lost the baby…right?"

Satoru shook his head. "Despite that the strength of five extremely powerful Neo-Parallel Engines wore you down because you handled them without an Accellular and put your body through an enormous amount of strain, you're still pregnant…and still with us." He kissed her hand and smiled. "I love you, so much."

Kei nodded and smiled. "I know."

"They're quite the couple, aren't they?" Sakura asked as she watched Kei and Satoru through the window.

"Yeah." Eiji said. "It's clear that Akashi really loves her."

The next week or so was quiet, peaceful…but also bittersweet.

Since the New Generation's mission was officially over (Ouga had been defeated and 2031 Eiji was recovered), that meant one thing: that they could go home. The problem was that not all of them necessarily WANTED to go home.

Rin and Kei were the ones who wanted to stay behind.

Rin wanted to stay with Souta and marry him, but Kei was the one who had the harder choice. She, after all, had a child to think about. She knew if she left without Satoru, she would run the risk of her child growing up without a father. But, could she really ask him to go back to the future with her?

Souta had already made up his mind. "I'm going to go with Rin-chan." He announced at breakfast one morning, causing people to spit out coffee, tea and odd vegetable concoctions.

"Souta, really…" Satoru began.

"Chief…I'm going to miss my friends, I'm going to miss everything, but I don't have any family…and Rin's going to be my family. I can't do that if I stay here when she goes home. That's why I am going to marry her and we're going to make a family." He put his arm around the elder Inou sister and squeezed her to him.

Rin's face turned a light pink shade.

"Oh, Dad will LOVE this." Hikari quipped. "He'll totally flip."

"Let him flip." Rin shot back. "I don't care if his hair turns white. He's not going to tell me who I can and can't marry."

Hikari giggled. "I wonder what Dad will think of the romance I've forged with Kando."

"Well, it'll be sweet to learn his reaction." Rin pointed out. "He'll just die."

The Inou sisters giggled.

"What about you, Chief?" Souta asked. "Are you going to 2031 with Kei?"

Satoru sighed. "I don't know…"

"Akashi, she is carrying your child." Masumi pointed out. "You have to think of her future and your child's future. When I get Natsuki pregnant, I'm not going anywhere. I love her and I want to be a part of her life. I wouldn't abandon her or our baby."

"Kei's hopelessly in love with you." Eiji Pointed out. "She'd never have accepted your marriage proposal otherwise… and the idea of being without you…that breaks her."

Satoru sighed. He knew he had a greater responsibility... and it wasn't just to Kei…but to their child as well.

"You're right." He sighed. "I'm going to go with Kei and be a good father to our baby."

"We'll miss you, Chief!" Natsuki said, giving him a hug.

"Yeah… I'll miss 2006." Satoru sighed. "But I'll be with Kei and that's really all I care about."

"Tsubasa, there you are!" Rin announced as Tsubasa came into the salon. "Is everything ready?"

Tsubasa nodded and shrugged. "As ready as it will ever be…but Kei's bringing back some Precious with her. Pandora's Key…I think she said it was."

"Pandora's Key!?" Rin shot up out of her chair. "What the HELL is she doing with that?!"

"Preventing Gaja and Ryooun from ever finding it." Kei said as she came in, producing the key from her pocket before quickly shoving it back in. "By the time those two figure out it's missing, we'll be long gone…and it will have been destroyed by me." She sighed as she came in and sat down. "Don't freak out. If I don't go out in public, they won't find it…or me."

"You know Ryooun is…" Rin began.

"Very determined." Kei finished. "I know. Don't have a panic attack. Chill…in fact, if my memory serves me, correctly Ryooun should be running out of power…right around this time."

"You mean…"

Kei nodded. "Yup. We're bailing just in time."

"Kei, I still don't think this is right." Hikari asked.

"Do I need to remind you what happened when Gaja got his hands on this?" Kei snapped. "I'm trying to prevent that!"

"And do _I _need to remind _you_ what happened when nee-chan tried to change history by messing with a Precious?" Hikari asked. "We wound up living in hell for 2 months!"

"I KNOW THAT!" Kei yelled. "Now, are we going to go home or are we going to stand around and wait for Gaja to figure out that a Boukenger's got Pandora's Key?"

"If Gaja never finds the box then we should be okay." Satoshi pointed out. "But, I just found out that he did and now he's looking for the key."

"Kei, you're going to get yourself killed…" Rin said.

"This is my last chance, Rin. MY last chance to have an adventure before I hang up my SGS jacket indefinitely to be a mother. I want to be a mother…but I thought I would be older when it happened. Instead it's happening now and I'm making one last effort to do something before…ONE LAST ADVENTURE! That's all…one final adventure!" Kei sighed. "Rin, you're marrying Souta because you love him and you're eager to have a family. I'm marrying Satoru out of love, yeah, but also out of obligation. I'm having his child." 

"And what, you think that risking your life is what, your last ditch at glory?" Rin asked. "Kei, you won't be a stay at home mother forever. After the baby's born, you can still adventure. Your mom did it…my mom did it. I'll do it!"

Kei sighed. "Rin, I'm sorry, I'm just…"

"It's all right, Kei-chan. You're just scared." Rin gave her friend a hug. "I suppose I shouldn't go around accusing you of shirking your responsibility. You are very responsible, but scared. I'd be terrified too if I found out I was pregnant and then remembered that I'm not married."

Kei wasted no time in dragging her best friend to Satoru's room and bolting the door.

"I feel like I'm going to be trapped in a loveless marriage." Kei murmured, sitting down on the bed. "What if Satoru and I marry and I find out that we hate each other? What if I find someone else? What if he cheats…what if this baby tears us apart?" She placed her hand on her stomach. "I have all these fears…and he's been nothing but good to me. But that's now…what will happen then?"

"I've never met two people more meant for each other than you and Akashi-sama." Rin said. "He was so determined to save you from an eternity trapped in stone, that he almost detonated SirenBuilder. You empathized when he was being tortured…something only soul mates can do. That is why I believe that this baby, a being born out of love, the love you two shared, will bring you closer together."

Suddenly a loud crash from outside interrupted the Lifetime moment.

"Gaja!" Rin muttered, running to the window. "Kei-san, look!"

"So _that's_ the infamous Gaja." Kei had finally seen the white robed figure approaching the museum. "And look…he has the box of Pandora."

"Which means he wants the key!" Rin said.

"He'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands." Kei said. "I'm destroying this key now. Get me that hammer over there."

They never got the chance to do so, because the window caved in, sending both girls heading for cover. "At last, I've found it! And in the hand of Boukengers!"

Fortunately, the hammer landed near Kei and she wasted no time in smashing the key into thousands of unusable pieces. "Not today, Gaja! Time to send you back into hibernation!"

She was completely unprepared for Gaja to choke her and she gasped.

"You've destroyed the key!" He rasped.

"That's right and now, I'm going to destroy…"

Another loud explosion rocked the building.

Rin screamed and Gaja released Kei.

"We have to get out of here!" Rin yelled. "Ryooun must have gotten into the Precious Bank!"

Several hours later

Rain was pouring down into the city and Kei sat outside the wreckage of the SGS museum alone, shifting through rubble. Everyone's powers had been purged. Mr. Voice, when they needed him most, had abandoned them. Satoru had been trapped in the bank as it has exploded. Kei had felt her heart being ripped out. She was wet and terrified, refusing to believe her gut. She was looking for any hint, even a sign that Satoru might be alive. "Please…" Kei murmured, sobbing. She was making a desperate plea to whatever deity could hear her. "Please…don't take him away from me now! Not when I'll need him the most in the months to come! How am I supposed to raise this baby…if Satoru's not there?"

"Kei-chan, please…" Rin put her hand on her friend's back.

"NO!" Kei shouted. "He's NOT DEAD!"

"Kei, he couldn't have possibly survived that explosion."

Kei looked at her best friend. "Rin. no…it's not supposed to end this way. This isn't what we wanted! We were supposed to get married…and have this baby and raise it together. He promised!" Kei sobbed harder. "SATORU PROMISED ME!"

Rin hugged her friend tightly and then Kei began to cry harder. "Rin, it's not fair! Satoru can't be dead! He can't be dead…."

Meanwhile, Kando and Hikari awoke in the Vehicle bay, wet and scared. "Hika-chan…" Kando murmured.

"Kando." She murmured as she woke up, curling around his warm body. "We're alive."

"Yeah…we must have survived the explosion." He hugged her tightly. "What are we going to do? I think we're trapped down here."

"Well, we're still breathing." Hikari said. "Now, we just have to get out of here."

"Masumi, Natsuki's worried about her daughters." Natsuki was shivering in the rain, in Masumi's arms. "What if they got hurt?"

"They're fighters…they'll be fine." Masumi said. "It's Kei I'm worried about. Akashi may have died in that explosion and she's still pregnant. What is she going to do?"

"Natsuki's scared, Masumi."

"I'm scared, too."

Sakura lay on the floor of the salon, semi-conscious and nestled beneath the warmth of Eiji's silver jacket. Eiji was lying next to her, staring at the ceiling. He'd managed to make it back to the museum in one piece, all things considered. He'd found Sakura, shrieking and crying on the floor, having smashed the screen Mr. Voice used to talk to them. She'd yelled at him and struck him over and over, screaming that Voice had fired them, abandoned them and left them to die on their own. He'd learned that Kei had been desperately sifting through the rubble, trying to find Satoru, hoping that the man she loved wasn't dead. Souta and Tsubasa had vanished, Satoshi was god knows where, Hikari and Kando had been trapped in the vehicle bay and no one was sure if they were alive, Rin was with Kei and Masumi and Natsuki had also vanished, but there was a good chance they'd managed to save themselves. The situation seemed absolutely hopeless and Sakura was convinced that no one was going to make it out of there alive.

Eiji wasn't so sure, but he'd consoled his bride to be and held her to him and then…in an act of mercy, he'd knocked her out so she would rest and calm down. Sakura had gone down and he'd gently laid her on the floor, stripping her of her pink jacket and using that as a pillow and covering her with his silver jacket. He was worried about her, and their baby. All this stress couldn't be good for the baby.

He knew this wasn't the time to be worried about his baby, but he was trying to think of anything, anything at all except what was going on. He sighed. Now, more than ever, he wanted to be with his mother. But she was gone, having refused his offer to become a living being again.

_What is your treasure, Eiji?_ He could hear his mother's voice._ What have you gained from all of this?_

Eiji thought about his 2031 self, who had all the things he once thought he would never have. He had a family, a wife, and a life, even his own business. He thought about how much he'd grown to love Sakura and of the children they'd had together. He thought about his happiness.

_My treasure is my adventures and the woman I love, Mother. Sakura means the world to me._

_I'm happy to hear that, Eiji. I will always be here with you…keeping watch._

Eiji wanted his mother to be flesh again so she could hold her granddaughter and son, he could ask her for advice. He wanted to have a mother in his life, instead of just a spirit. He sighed. _I wish you'd have let me bring you back._

Souta and Tsubasa stood and stared at the wreckage of the SGS Museum and sighed.

"Now what?" Tsubasa asked.

"We rebuild." Souta replied. He cocked his head at his young son. "Tell me something."

"What?"

"Why were you in love with Kei?"

Tsubasa sighed. "Ever since I was little, I thought she was a goddess." He smiled. "I always wanted to make her my wife because she was funny, kind, caring, warm and sweet…everything a guy could want. And I wanted to make her mine. But Kei-san was never interested. She never even showed a hint of interest…I mean, now I know why…but still…" Tsubasa looked at his father. "Why Rin?"

"What?"

"Why…out of all the girls in the world did you pick Rin? She's nothing special."

"Maybe not to you, but she is to me. Rin-chan's very special to me. That's why I'm going to marry her. I believe that a special lady should be treasured and trust me, Tsubasa…Rin is a special treasure. I'm in love with her and I am going to marry her."

"Like her dad's going to let you…" Tsubasa muttered.

Satoshi sat alone inside the empty museum, looking at the shattered picture of the new generation Boukengers taken with their parents and Zuban, which had been taken earlier that day and Kei had lovingly put it in a frame.

"A souvenir of our greatest adventure." She'd said, smiling.

Satoshi wanted to throw the picture across the room. Some adventure. He wound up losing the girl he'd spent his whole life desiring to, of all people, his father. She was having his baby and marrying him. It wasn't fair! Why did Satoshi have to stand by and watch as his father walked down the aisle with his Chief?

He should have just let Kei die alone in that field when Yami no Shizuka brutalized her and left her for dead, but he knew in his heart that he didn't have it in him to commit such an act. He was still in love with Kei and he would love her until the day he drew his last breath. He'd been the one who pressed the emergency call button when he saw Kei fall down. He'd stayed with her until Satoru had come.

And Kei forever thought that Satoru, her knight in shining armor had saved her and taken her back. Satoshi was sick of it! He'd love Kei more than his father ever would! He wouldn't have married her just because she was expecting his child… he'd have married her out of love. Kei deserved more than his father could give her and Satoshi was prepared to give it to her. He hoped Satoru died in the explosion…. then he could court Kei freely. It was a cruel, hurtful thing to think, but he thought it anyway.

If Satoshi had been paying attention, he would have come to realize that there was no way his father could be dead. Satoshi still existed, which meant that his father was still alive.

Satoru was deep underground, trying to figure out how the heck he was supposed to activate GouGou Voyager. He wished he had Kei's remote. He wished he were with Kei as he pulled her picture out of his pocket and kissed it. _I'll be with you real soon, Kei…I swear. _He thought, pulling the ring out of his pocket. _I swear._

"One ring to rule her heart…" He murmured. _Please…let me make it back to her so I can be there for the birth of our baby girl. _

The first thing that Kando had noticed was that he and Hikari were trapped in the vehicle bay and had no way of getting out. If Sakurako had shut down the power of the engines, that meant that the GouGou Vehicles weren't useable. They were most definitely stuck. The second thing he noticed was that Hikari had somehow gotten hurt. She hadn't stood up at all since she woke up.

"Hika-chan, are you all right?" Kando asked.

"I think I hurt my ankle." Hikari whimpered, nursing her ankle and attempting to stand. She almost immediately fell over, crying out. Kando rushed over to catch her. She was most definitely hurt.

"I think it's twisted." He said, laying Hikari on the ground. "How'd you hurt it?"

"I don't really remember."

"We probably fell on the way in here." Kando sighed. "We're stuck…"

"What about our nee-chans?" Hikari asked. "Satoshi? Tsubasa? Where are they?"

"I don't know." Kando said. "Maybe they're not in the museum."

"Can't you contact them, Kando? I think my Accellular isn't working."

"Sakurako must have shut down the Boukenger program…which in short, means we're screwed."

Hikari whimpered in an attempt to get back on her feet, before falling to the ground. "Kando…I don't want to die in here."

"We're not going to die." Kando told her. _At least I hope not._

By the time, Souta, Tsubasa, Masumi and Natsuki reached the museum dawn had broken and they found an inconsolable Kei sobbing into Rin's chest. Kei was bruised and bleeding and she looked as though she'd been shifting through rubble all night.

"What happened?" Natsuki asked, running over to Kei and Rin.

"Kei was looking for signs that Akashi-sama had survived the explosion." Rin said. "I couldn't make her stop looking. She refused. Although…I don't think he lived."

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Kei shrieked. "Satoru lived! He had to have lived!" She began sobbing all over again and Rin kept trying to shush her, like a mother would soothe her child.

"Kei-chan, look, the possibility that Satoru survived…"

"Stop it! Satoru's a fighter! He wouldn't die without a fight!"

"Maybe he DID die!" Satoshi was alive no question. "I'm glad he's dead! Now, I don't have to watch you two walk down that damn aisle! I won't have to call you Stepmother! I'm glad!"

"Satoshi, how can you say such things, you jerk!" Rin let Natsuki hug Kei as she got up and stormed over to him. "Your father could possibly be dead! DEAD! As in GONE FOREVER! Don't you care?"

"I stopped caring when he knocked up my boss!"

Kei detached herself from Natsuki's embrace (Rin was right, her mother really did give the best hugs), slowly got to her feet and stalked over to Satoshi. And then, out of nowhere, came a resounding slap.

Satoshi had a few scratch marks on his face and a red mark.

Kei sobbed. "Satoshi Akashi, I hate you!" She paused. "And you're fired."

Satoshi wasted no time in throwing the Accellular in Kei's face as well as his yellow jacket. "Here! Keep it! I quit anyway!" His face was red with fury. "I'd rather be unemployed then work from a home wrecking, inhuman demoness bitch like you!"

Kei was infuriated. "GET LOST BEFORE I KILL YOU!"

"We can't just LEAVE him here!" Tsubasa said. "What will we tell his father?"

"That his son has NO respect for authority." Kei muttered as Satoshi ran off into the Tokyo streets. "And that he chose to quit and stay behind." Her hand was nervously rubbing her stomach. "And that he thinks I'm not worth anything…I thought Satoshi loved me."

Suddenly, it clicked in Tsubasa's head. "Kei-san…that's it! Satoshi's JEALOUS of Satoru!"

"What?" Kei was slightly surprised and then she remembered. "Oh god, that's right! I don't believe this!" She began crying again. "I never had a chance to talk to him about it…to tell him the truth…"

"I'll do it." Tsubasa offered.

"Tsubasa, I think it's best that…" Souta began.

"Dad, I'm the only one who knows how to handle Satoshi. I know _exactly_ how he's feeling."

"How did you get over it?" Rin asked.

"Kei-san was happy and I realized that I was happy that she was happy. She's marrying someone she truly loves and building a future with him. I realized then that she would always be a good friend to me." Tsubasa then took off after Satoshi.

Kei whimpered. "I can't take much more of this."

Suddenly, Kando's panicked voice came out of Kei's Accellular. "Nee-chan!"

"Kando, thank the heavens!' Kei was relieved. "Are you all right?"

"I am, but Hikari's not. She hurt her ankle on the way in here and she can't stand on it. And since Voice must have shut down the Boukenger powers, we can't use the vehicles. Which means, in short, that we're trapped in here!"

"Where are you, Kando?" Hikari asked, determined to remain calm.

"The Vehicle Bay." He replied. "Please, hurry, nee-chan. I don't know what will happen if Hikari doesn't see a doctor soon."

Kei now looked more worried than ever, but relieved. Her little brother had survived. "We'll figure something out, Kando, don't worry." She sighed. "What am I going to do?"

Eiji had placed Sakura on a couch in the salon so she could sleep more comfortably and slept on the floor that night. As he woke up he took a closer look at Sakura and noticed that her skirt and jacket were looser than usual, like they were a size bigger. And then, he noticed why.

_Sakura was starting to show._

She was further along in her pregnancy than Kei was, that was for sure. Eiji was hurt. Had Sakura known all this time and decided not to tell him? Eiji's greatest wish was to have a family of his own, for wandering alone for so long, he'd concluded, was no way to live. He smiled, his slight hurt fading. Sakura was positively glowing these days and now he knew why. And she looked beautiful with the slight curves she had now. He wondered how beautiful she'd look when she _really _began showing. He sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes, remembering the grim events of the previous day. It was a miracle they'd all survived.

Then suddenly, a loud scream caught his attention and then he realized something.

_Gaja was after the Brain of Gordom! _ It was all he'd need to become a god himself. Mentally, Eiji began to flip out before getting up and running towards where the scream had been heard.

Kei had forced herself to go see where the cry had come from, trying to, in her grief, not forget her mission.

She was surprised to see Karths, but then realized what Gaja was after. She was surprised that no one else had figured it out. Why else would Gaja be so persistent? And that was when she saw Sakurako…and Sakurako HAD THE BRAIN.

"Sakurako-san!" Kei called, running to protect the little girl.

"Kei-san!" Sakurako sounded relieved. "Are you all right?"

"Satoru's dead." Kei said, her face falling before she got in front of the girl to protect her.

Sakurako was shocked. "Red-kun is dead?"

Kei nodded. "What are you doing? Don't you know that the Brain is what Gaja's after? Why didn't you destroy it when you blew up the Precious bank?"

"Because I thought I could get rid of it."

Kei groaned and handed Sakurako some earplugs. "Put these on."

"What are they for?"

"Just trust me." Kei said and the moment Sakurako put the earplugs in, Kei opened her mouth and began to sing (Do As Infinity's "Shinjitsu no Uta") and then the Karths (closely followed by Daishinkan Gaja) froze.

So did Gaja, but only for about a second.

Kei hadn't been expecting her siren song to not work on him and she was completely caught off guard and she and Sakurako found themselves blown backwards. Kei wasted no time in grabbing the brain. "One more step and I'll smash it to pieces!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Gaja wheezed.

Kei was struggling to hold on to her grip on her emotions and she sobbed. "It's YOUR fault that Satoru is dead!" She cried. "So I'm going to make sure that you NEVER become Gajadom!"

The concentrated blast was the last thing Kei remembered seeing before everything went black.

_Several Hours Later…_

"Kei? Kei?"

"Is she going to be okay?"

"I think so; look, she's opening her eyes."

"Nee-chan! Thank goodness!"

"All you all right, Kei-chan?"

"Kei-san?"

Kei's eyes blinked, opened and then she squinted. The first thing she made out was the massive figure of DaiVoyager…and the second… was Satoru's face.

Satoru had survived.

Kei shrieked with happiness, throwing her arms around Satoru's shoulders and hugging him. "Oh, thank god! You're okay! Did I miss the battle?"

"What battle? Nee-chan, you destroyed Gaja!" Kando was there and he was covered in lord knows what, but he was overjoyed. "Gaja accidentally destroyed the brain of Gordom and in doing so, destroyed himself! He needed the heart and brain to stay alive! Which means that Satoshi's theory about why he was after that Precious was right." He looked around. "Hey, were is Satoshi?"

"He quit." Rin spat. "And now we have to go home to his father and explain to him why we left Satoshi behind."

"Satoshi quit?" Kando asked. "Why?"

"His envy of his own father overtook his common sense." Hikari muttered as she pulled herself up into a sitting position.

"I convinced him to come back." Tsubasa had appeared with Satoshi in tow. "I reminded him that his placement here was not due to his father, but because of Kei. She chose him." Satoshi's facial expression was still a grim line, but at least he'd come back.

"I don't want to talk about it." Satoshi muttered.

Kei sighed, but then she hugged Satoru to her. "I was so worried about you, Satoru. I thought you were dead and everything!"

Satoru laughed. "How many times have I escaped death?"

Kei giggled and hugged him again, ignoring Satoshi's indifferent stare.

Satoshi sighed. His jealousy wasn't worth it anymore. He understood why Kei could never return his affections. He was slightly happy for his father had found a wife who would actually pay him attention, which was more than he could say about his own mother. And Kei did seem so much happier than she had been. He supposed he could live with it. It was better than only seeing his real mother once a year. He smiled, realizing that he had to truly love Kei because her happiness was all that mattered to him. And she looked pretty darn happy as Satoru picked her up and twirled her around.

"Kando…" Kei asked as Satoru placed her down. "How exactly did you and Hikari escape?"

Kando beamed. "I hotwired GouGou Drill."

"YOU WHAT?!" Kei cried. "Who taught you how to hotwire a vehicle?"

"Dad." Kando replied. "He taught me hot to hotwire the vehicles when I was 10."

Kei rolled her eyes. "Some role model Dad is!"

Hikari giggled. "Kando is very resourceful." She said.

"Yeah, I'll bet." Kei grumbled, before she grew a little panicked. "Sakurako! Where is she?"

Sakurako tapped her on the shoulder and smiled. "I'm all right, Kei-san. You protected me." She smiled, but then her face fell. "And I'm sorry to tell you, but the Sands of Memory and Time was destroyed in the explosion."

"Which means that we're stuck here." Tsubasa said. "Permanently?"

"Until SGS comes up with a way to send you guys home." Sakurako said. "I'll get to work on that."

Kei bit her lip. "Well, I suppose it could be worse." She admitted. "We could be cast adrift in time, lost between the years. Instead, we're in an actual year." She rested her head against Satoru's shoulder.

_I couldn't think of a better place to be._

The 12 Boukengers sighed and looked up towards the sky. A new day had dawned and the world was safe from a dangerous foe and an equally dangerous treasure. It was the beginnings of yet another great adventure.

_The End…of the main story, anyway._


	18. For Better or For Worse?

Epilogue I: For Better or For Worse?

_Two Months later…_

"Do you, Mamiya Natsuki take Inou Masumi to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer, for poorer, until death do you part?"

Natsuki looked ready to cry, she was so happy. She turned towards Masumi, her eyes shimmering and she nodded, unable to make herself speak.

The minister looked confused. "Is that a yes?" He asked Masumi.

Natsuki sobbed. "Natsuki does!"

Masumi smiled, trying to conceal the fact that he was on the verge of crying and he slipped the gold band on her ring finger.

"And do you, Inou Masumi, take Mamiya Natsuki to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in heath, in good time and bad, for richer, for poorer, until death do you part?"

Masumi looked at Natsuki and smiled. She looked so pretty in her pale white gown, with yellow flowers pinned in her hair and a delicate yellow diamond necklace around her neck. She looked grown up now, and so full of hope and love and life. She had been, for a long, long time, the only good thing in his life.

. Suddenly, his mind flashed back to the day he'd found her in the ruins with nothing but a bracelet on and an empty memory bank. Since then, they'd gone on and forged new memories. He'd given her a name, a home and someone to care about. All he wanted was to spend the rest of his life with the only person he could ever call his family. He wanted to give her the family she hoped for. And then, maybe someday, when they were older, he'd write about their story. His smile grew wider. "I do." He murmured softly as Natsuki slid the matching band on his finger.

Sakura, Kei, Hikari and Rin all burst into tears, sobbing into their tissues. "It's so beautiful!" Sakura wailed as she cried into Eiji's shoulder, her hand rubbing her stomach. Compared to Kei, Sakura was six months along and her mood swings were in full swing. Already she'd gotten angry, sad, happy and hungry…. all within twenty minutes. Eiji was completely used to this already and he handed her another tissue. He smiled as the minister declared Natsuki and Masumi husband and wife and then Masumi swept Natsuki up into his arms and kissed her. He remembered his own simplistic wedding day to Sakura and smiled, squeezing her hand.

Souta dabbed at his eyes with a spare tissue. The New Generation Boukengers were still stuck in 2006, but they were making the best of it. Hikari and Rin had helped their mother pick out the perfect dress to get married in and took care of all the planning. And now the sisters sat together, sniffling and smiling. He had to admit…Rin looked cute in a pretty dress.

The reception was nothing special, just cake and dancing in the salon, a nice compliment to the simple outdoor wedding. Natsuki had insisted on a chocolate wedding cake and invited everyone to share it with her and Masumi as they took their first steps together as a new family.

Satoshi and Tsubasa stood off to the side, occasionally breaking in to dance with one of the girls. They felt a little out of place in the salon, surrounded by the multitude of happy couples.

"I guess our princesses will be a little harder to find." Tsubasa remarked. "My dad always said that a special treasure is almost always worth waiting for."

"Your dad chased one too many skirts in his day, but he has a point. I guess a special treasure is worth waiting for." Satoshi sounded sad as he took note of the slightly pregnant Kei dancing with Satoru. "I thought that Kei was my treasure."

"It never would have worked between the two of you." Tsubasa added. "I honestly thought that you and me and Kei would never have been a smooth relationship. So, when I saw how happy Akashi-sensei made her, I gave up." He gestured to the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Satoru Akashi and smiled. "Look at them. Look how happy she is with him."

Satoshi sighed. "I know, I guess I just didn't want to give up hope on her." He said, putting some more rice in his mouth and chewing. "It hurts to lose someone you care about to your own parent, you know?"

"Well, at least Kando's happy." Tsubasa pointed out as they watched Kando and Hikari share a glass of sparkling cider. "So, at least one of us got a princess…the best princess of all."

"Satoru, will our wedding day be as lovely as this one was?" Kei asked as they slow danced together. She sighed dreamily. "I can't wait."

Satoru smiled, placing one hand on the slight swell of Kei's stomach. "Neither can I."

_Two weeks later…_

"Do you, Satoru Akashi, take Kei Takaoka to be your lawfully wedded wife…to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer, for poorer, until death do you part?" The minister's voice was warm and comforting and Satoru look a moment to look into Kei's eyes and smile.

Kei smiled back.

"I do." He replied.

"And do you, Kei Takaoka, take Satoru Akashi to be your lawfully wedded husband…to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer, for poorer, until death do you part?"

It was a warm spring day, and the sakura were blooming and falling into the hair of the small assembled party, the minister and the soon to be wed couple.

Kei looked up into the sky, a petal falling on her nose, and then looked back at Satoru (he looked so handsome in his tuxedo) and the smile on her face grew bright and wide and the flush on her cheeks grew to a deep red. "I do." She murmured softly as Satoru slid the gold band on her left ring finger.

"Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Satoru Akashi." The minister smiled. "You may now kiss the bride."

Kei began to cry as Satoru kissed her.

2031 Eiji dabbed his eyes with a napkin

Sakura broke into full-blown sobs with 2006 Eiji consoling her. Rin, Hikari and Natsuki dabbed at their eyes, causing their significant others to roll their eyes. Only Kando's roll was noticed and Hikari smacked him.

"Be happy for your sister!" she hissed.

"I AM happy, I just don't want to cry like a little baby!"

The wave of applause from the small group drowned out their argument as Satoru and Kei turned to face their friends and family, laughing (Kei was still crying, so it was hard to tell).

Kei had never wanted a big lavish affair, just something small and simple, with a pretty dress and the man she loved. Her dress was a lovely, ivory colored number that flattered the slight curves she was beginning to gain due to her pregnancy and she wore a simple tiara on top of her black curled hair. She seemed to just _glow_ with happiness.

Satoru was awash with joy. He was a step closer to his dreams of a family. He'd married the woman he'd come to love and she was expecting his baby in several months. He could hardly wait to see how her body changed and how beautiful she'd look and how wonderful their child would be.

Suddenly, he looked at Kei and noticed that his wife was still crying. "What's wrong, Kei?" he asked.

"I wish my mom could be here to see this. I'd hate to go home and have to tell her that a) I'm pregnant and b) I got married without her." Kei dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

Even a week after the Boukenger wound up stranded in the past, Satoru had learned how homesick Kei was. She really did miss her mother and her home and longed to go and tell her mom everything that had happened. It had broken her heart to learn that she would have to get married without her mother there.

"I know, you did, sweetie." He kissed her cheek softly and rubbed her stomach, which was beginning to swell a little from the life that was growing inside her. "But I promise that I will have you home in time for her to see the birth of her granddaughter." He kissed her hand, and kissed the gold band on her ring. Kei didn't know it, but Satoru was planning to do what Souta was going to do, and go home with the love of his life…go back to 2031. He wanted to be there for his daughter.

Kei smiled and Satoru kissed her again, more deeply this time as their friends threw cherry blossoms on them before he scooped her up and carried her off to the waiting car so they could begin their life together.

_Three Months later…_

Two tiny cries split the quiet air of Makino-sensei's workshop and Sakura flopped back against the lounge chair, her hair sweaty and her skin sticky. She was panting as Souta placed two bundles in her arms, one wrapped in his blue SGS jacket and another in Masumi's black SGS jacket.

"Congratulations." Souta murmured. "You're the mother of twins, a little boy and a little girl."

"Oh, Sakura." Eiji murmured as he knelt beside his wife. "They're beautiful."

Sakura sobbed with joy as she handed her son to Eiji and cradled her daughter. "Look at them. They're so perfect…ten fingers and ten toes and little bits of white in their hair. So much like their father." She kissed the hand of her tiny daughter. "I love you, Takaoka Eiji."

"And I love you, Takaoka Sakura." He kissed her forehead. "Look at what we created together."

"What do you want to name them, Eiji?" Sakura asked. "It's up to you."

Eiji looked up and spotted Kei and Kando standing in the room, crying silent tears of joy and smiling. He smiled.

"Let's name them after my parents." Eiji said. "Kei…. and Kando Takaoka."

Kei and Kando chuckled as the newborns cooed.

"Aww, we're so cute." Kei remarked.

"We weren't twins, were we?" Kando asked.

"I guess we sort of changed history." Kei remarked.

"No! Really?" Kando asked, semi-sarcastically as Souta left the room and Kei dragged him out. "I wonder how we did it."

Kei wasn't sure, but her back was hurting something fierce as she and Kando went into the salon so she could lie down. Her stomach was sort of itching and she felt so hideously swollen. She groaned as she flopped onto the sofa.

"Are you all right, Kei-chan?" Rin asked as she and Souta went over a map that disclosed the location of a precious called the Ginzishou. "You seem a little…worn out."

"Of COURSE, I'm worn out!" Kei cried. "I'm pregnant! I'm carrying a HUMAN LIFE! I"VE BEEN AT THIS FOR ALMOST SEVEN MONTHS! It's EXHAUSTING!"

_Mood swings at twelve o'clock. _Rin thought. "Would you like me to do anything for you?" She asked.

"Yes. Get a doctor who will cut this baby out of me so I no longer have to carry it." Kei snapped.

At that response, Rin decided to leave Kei alone for a little while. Otherwise, she was likely to get her head bitten off.

"Leave my nee-chan alone, Rin." Kando said, attempting to fiddle with his GouGou Changer. "She'll bite off the head of anything that comes within reach."

"And what makes you think that you know everything?!" Kei snapped at Kando. "Who do you think YOU are?"

"Nee-chan, relax." Kando said, placidly as Satoshi and Tsubasa came in, triumphant.

"We found the Ginzishou!" Tsubasa announced.

"Fantastic." Kei's voice was laced with sarcasm.

"What's the matter with Kei-sama?" Satoshi asked.

"She's pregnant." Rin muttered. "And very cranky about it."

"I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE CRANKY!"

This was the scene that greeted Sakurako when she came into the salon. "Hello, Boukengers." She said, cheerfully. "I have good news."

This perked everyone up.

"What kind of news, Sakurako-san?" Tsubasa asked.

The small girl beamed. "You're going home."

Kei's mood switched almost immediately. "We are?"

"Finally?" Tsubasa asked.

""Really?" Rin asked

"Truly?" Satoshi asked.

"Are you kidding?" Kando chimed in.

"Yes." Sakurako smiled. "We found a way to send you home."

"I can't wait to tell Satoru!" Kei hadn't sounded that excited in days.

At the mention of Satoru, Sakurako's face fell a little. "Oh, dear…"

Kei looked worried. "What is it?"

Sakurako sighed. "Kei-san, I don't know how to tell you this, but…"

"But what?!"

"Satoru can't go home with you."

"WHAT?!"

"Chief's going to into space?" Natsuki squealed as Satoru broke the news. "How exciting!"

"But if you're leaving, Akashi, who will take care of Chief duties?" Masumi asked.

Satoru smirked. "You will, Masumi." He said, chuckling as the color drained from Masumi's face.

"You're kidding." Eiji muttered. "How could you pass Sakura over for…"

"Sakura has a set of twins to look after, right?" Satoru asked.

"Oh yeah…I forgot."

"Ei-chan forgot his own babies!" Natsuki giggled, then her face grew more serious. "But Chief…how are you going to tell Kei that you can't go home with her like you planned?"

Satoru's face grew deathly pale. "Kei… I forgot about her and the baby!"

"How could you forget your children!?" Eiji asked. "And your wife? How are you going to tell her that she's facing going home a single mother?"

"What are you talking about, Eiji?" Satoru asked.

"Akashi, didn't Voice tell you? She and her Boukengers are going home."

"When?"

"In three days…and once they leave, they can never come back."

Satoru slumped down into the chair. In his euphoria over the chance of a lifetime, he'd forgotten about Kei and their baby. He stared at the gold band on his hand and sighed. _Until death do us part…_

Adventure vs. Family…his two true loves and Satoru could only have one.

Now what was he going to do?


	19. Endless Bouken Spirits

Epilogue II:

"Endless Bouken Spirits"

_The next day…_

The nursery in the Takaoka home had to be quickly redone to allow for Kando's arrival, but Satoru wasn't at all surprised to find Sakura in there, tending to her twin babies. She looked so happy and well, maternal.

"Oh, Chief!" She was happy to see him. "Eiji told me about what's going on. I'm so happy for your chance to go into space, but… what about Kei?"

"That's what I've been pondering. " Satoru murmured. "If I go, she'll hate me and my child will grow up without a father. I.I.I want to pass on my love of adventuring to my kid. I don't want to have gone into space and see all these things, but constantly wonder what my child's doing now, what he or she looks like, what her first words were…it will leave a hole in my heart…"

He slumped into a rocking chair and Sakura handed him her son, Kando. "Make yourself useful." She said.

Kando didn't scream in Satoru's arms, he just gurgled and fell asleep. "It seems that you've already come to your conclusion, Chief." Sakura said as she fed the newborn Kei. "You want to go with Kei, like you planned."

"Yeah, but…I'll be missing out on the adventure of a lifetime!" Satoru murmured. "How often does the chance to go into space come along? What if I never get a shot at this again?"

"What if you think about your responsibilities to your wife and unborn child?" Sakura asked. "Motherhood, even under the best of circumstances is tough. She's going to need you. In fact, she needs you_ now_."

Satoru looked at the small blue bundle and smiled gently. How could he have considered leaving Kei behind and never seeing her again? He loved her. He'd married her! He adored her! How could he leave her alone with his baby? He wanted to be a father so badly and to take care of her. He'd promised himself that.

Kando began to wake up and Sakura, who was attempting to put her nursing bra back on, motioned to Satoru to give Kando to her. He sighed. He had to be a father and a husband.

"Why are you going home with me?" Rin asked Souta as she curled into the warm cocoon Souta's arms provided.

"It's not like I have anything keeping me here." Souta murmured as he stroked Rin's hair. "I don't have a family and I'll miss my friends, but the idea of building a new future with you excites me. It's worth leaving everything behind. What else do I have here?" He sighed and pressed a kiss to Rin's forehead. "Besides…I want to see what I'd look like 25 years from now."

Rin sighed and she smiled. "You know, I'd stay if you want me to."

"Don't…I'm sure that you miss your parents. They must be so worried about you." Souta sighed. "I wonder what that's like…"

"You have no family, Souta?" Rin asked.

"None…I don't mind really and I haven't minded for a while." He sighed. "Why else would I be so eager to leave and start something new?"

"But you'll miss your friends, right?"

"Of course I will. But I'll, miss you more…Belle-chan."

"I can't believe we're going home! Oh, Kando-kun, I can't wait to see Mama and tell her all about you and me." Hikari was awash with giggles. "She'll be so happy. I'm sure she'll make you feel like you're part of the family!"

Kando had always liked Natsuki for as long as he'd known her. She was every bit as sweet and bubbly as she was now and she always made Kando feel like a welcome guest in the Inou home. It would tickle her to no end that her daughter was involved with Kando Takaoka, "Ei-chan's adorable son", as she put it.

It was Hikari's father that Kando was worried about. Masumi and Eiji had never quite gotten along and Masumi had been cool to Kando because of it. Masumi was also very protective of his two daughters; especially Hikari…Kando knew he was in for it.

_But I'm not as bad off as Souta-sensei. I can't wait to see how Rin-san explains that to her father._

He kissed Hikari soundly and sighed happily…a few more days and they'd be home, free to continue their love affair and to flourish in 2031…it was almost too good to be true.

"I hope nee-chan's sleeping a little bit better." He murmured, rolling over to embrace Hikari. "She hasn't been the same since we were told that Akashi-sensei couldn't come with us."

Kei hadn't wanted to stay in the SGS museum, so Sakura and Eiji fixed her up a room along with 2031 Eiji in the restored Takaoka home. Kei, with her largely swollen stomach, kept having difficulty sleeping comfortably and she spent hours trying to fall asleep. She spent a lot of time crying over the fact that she would be forced to raise her daughter alone without Satoru and had to face the fact that her career as a Boukenger was over. She would have to accept the role of Mother and Father, and what if the child was a boy? She sobbed over this, and came to a horrible conclusion:

Maybe Satoru never really loved her at all and he was backing out of his marital and father duties just to get away from his obligations and promises. The idea sounded ridiculous; Satoru wasn't like that, but his unwillingness to speak with her told him otherwise.

She rubbed her stomach and sighed to her unborn child. "Looks like it's going to be you and me, kid." She said, sadly. "Sounds like your daddy doesn't want you as much as I though he would."

The next morning Satoru was very surprised when Satoshi greeted him with a sharp slap across the face.

"How could you DO this to Kei-sama!?" Satoshi yelled at his father. "How could you just LEAVE her like that? She's your WIFE! She's carrying YOUR CHILD! How COULD you?"

"What makes you think that I'm leaving her, Satoshi?" Satoru was calm, reserved… even though he knew full well why Satoshi was so upset.

"Because you won't talk to her! You don't even look at her! She's having your baby and she wants you to be a part of its life? Is that such a hard task to do? Be a man?" Satoshi cracked his knuckles. "She thinks the world of you, or at least she used to, before she figured out what my Mother did a long time ago: no matter what, you'll always put adventure before your family. No wonder I never see her."

"I never said I was going to leave her." Satoru muttered.

"You might as well have." Satoshi growled. "She needs you and you're abandoning her."

Eiji gently knocked on the door to the nursery and was surprised to find his wife snoozing in the rocking chair, while his twin joys slept in their bassinets. It was the cutest thing he'd ever seen and a few seconds later, he saw Kei, curled up in another chair, cradling her stomach and crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked, even though he knew already from hearing Sakura and Natsuki talk about it.

"Satoru is leaving me, but I can't have this baby without him there, I just can't."

Eiji paused to check Kando's diaper and then Kei's and he sighed. "Actually…he changed his mind."

Everyone in the room perked up at Satoru's voice. "I'm not going into space."

"You're not, Chief?" Natsuki asked. "Did Kei-chan have something to do with it?"

"Well, sort of." Satoru sighed. "I couldn't leave her."

This was a cause for celebration. Satoru wasn't shirking his promises and he was going to leave to be with Kei and their unborn baby.

_The Next Afternoon…_

Satoru had to pry Sakura and Natsuki off him as they hugged him good-bye and then, seconds later, so did Souta.

"We'll miss you…Chief." Sakura said, as Eiji handed her the newborn Kei. "Have fun in 2031!"

"We'll miss you too, Souta-san." Natsuki squeezed Souta so tightly that he had trouble breathing. "It will be lonely without you!"

Souta chuckled at Natsuki's words. "I'm sure you'll manage. After all, Natsuki-sama, you have your prince. I'm sure Masumi will always make you happy."

Masumi opened his mouth to say something and then quickly closed it. "Take care of yourself, ex-spy." He said, punching Souta lightly on the shoulder.

"You too, former thief." Souta teased.

Eiji shifted newborn Kando in his arms to hug Kei and Kando goodbye. "Take care of yourselves." He said. "You, too." He gave a glance to his older self, who was smirking. "And hug your wife when you go home. I'm sure her hair has gone completely white with worry."

The older Eiji laughed and he nodded. "I miss holding my Blossom in my arms." He mused.

"Bye, bye Hikari and Rin." Natsuki gave the Inou sisters tight squeezes. "You hug your mom when you get back, too."

"We will…Mama." Hikari said.

Natsuki began sniffling. "She called me 'Mama', Masumi." Natsuki began to cry.

Kei hugged her mother tightly, taking care not to crush her infant self. "Goodbye Kei." Sakura said, smiling. "I hope you give your mother a tight hug; I'm sure she missed you."

"Bye, bye, Chibi-Kei." Kei cooed into the pink bundle as her baby self-made cooing noises. "Don't give your Mama too much trouble like I did."

Sakura giggled.

"You take care of my daughter, you hear me, Souta?" Masumi added.

"I will, I promise." Souta clutched Rin's hand.

"And you take care of my daughter, too, Akashi!" Eiji said. "She's the only one I've got."

"I'll make sure he takes care of my kid." 2031 Eiji smiled.

"Hey, Sato-chan, Tsu-kun, I hope you guys find your princesses." Natsuki gave Tsubasa and Satoshi tight hugs. "No one deserves to be alone."

"We'll keep looking." Satoshi promised. "I can't wait to go home, though." 

"Yeah, I miss my parents." Tsubasa said. "Hey, by the way, whatever happened to my Mom, anyway?"

Sakurako, standing behind the machine that would send the new gen Boukengers, 2031 Eiji, Satoru and Souta home, sighed. "She's presumed dead…. apparently not long after Yami no Shizuka released her, she fell off a cliff..."

"Well, obviously, she's not dead." Sakura pointed out.

"Then she escaped." Sakurako said. "So has everyone said their goodbyes?"

Natsuki, Kei, Rin and Hikari all began sniffling, while Sakura smiled sadly.

Masumi and Eiji gave Satoru and Souta thumbs up.

"Take care of the team, Masumi." Satoru said. "You're the Chief now."

"I will…Satoru." Masumi said.

"Sakura, I wish you and Eiji well…" He smiled. "I won't forget you."

Sakura blushed. "Thank you…Akashi-san."

"Hey, Oba-chan." Eiji chuckled, tossing Satoru a carrot. "Here…for the road."

"I'll miss you, Chief…Souta-san." Natsuki was on the verge of tears again.

Souta gave Natsuki a hug. "I'll miss you, too Natsuki-chan."

"You make Natsuki's Rin happy, Souta-san." Natsuki said. "Or Natsuki will come and hurt you!"

Satoru kissed Natsuki's forehead. "You take care of yourself, Natsuki. Make sure Masumi stays in line."

"Natsuki will!" Natsuki broke away to cry into Masumi's shoulder.

Satoru, 2031 Eiji, 2006 Eiji and Kando all pulled out their vegetables and bit into them in the same moment.

"Hey…tell me something." Eiji asked his older self.

"What?" 2031 Eiji asked.

"In 2031, am I happy?"

2031 Eiji smiled. "I've got a beautiful wife, two children, and my own business." His smile grew wistful. "Thanks to the Boukengers, I got everything I thought I'd never have. I couldn't be happier."

Souta paused and gave Sakura a hug. "Good bye, Sakura-san."

"Goodbye, Souta-kun." Sakura was wistful already as Souta went to stand with Kei and her Boukenger team.

"Ready?" Sakurako asked.

There was still sniffling and crying, but Kei gave the thumbs up.

"All right then…" Sakurako sighed and switched on the device. The same warp hole that had led the new generation to their greatest adventure, appeared and Kei turned to her parents one more time. "Thank you…for everything."

Sakura and Eiji nodded and Kei, followed closely by her father and Satoru, headed into the warp hole.

Rin and Hikari waved to Masumi and Natsuki. "See you in 25 years!" Hikari said as she and Kando leapt through.

Rin bowed lowly and blew her mother a kiss and a wink before she and Souta (Souta winking flirtatiously at Natsuki and Sakura, going "Sou-Sou-Souta!") vanished into the bright light.

Satoshi and Tsubasa smiled and waved before they vanished into the hole.

And just like that, they were gone.


	20. Bouken Dreams On!

Epilogue III:  
"Bouken Dreams On!"

_The Inou Family Home, 2006…One Year Later…_

"I don't believe it." Sakura said as she sat in the nursery in the home that Natsuki and Masumi had gotten not long after the new generation Boukengers had gone home. "You had twin girls."

"Natsuki's so happy!" Natsuki said as she lifted the infant Belle Inou, affectionately called "Rin" out of the black bassinet. "She and Masumi finally have what they've always wanted."

"And what is that, Natsuki?"

"Masumi and Natsuki finally have a family." Natsuki murmured, cuddling her daughter. "At long last, we're not alone anymore."

Suddenly, the yellow bassinet exploded with a loud wail. "Oh no, Hika-chan must be hungry…" Natsuki handed Sakura the baby and went to tend to her other daughter, Aurora Inou, also known as "Hikari".

Sakura smiled at the baby, who cooed up at her, before looking out the window and wondering…she wondered how Kei and Akashi-san and Souta-kun and the others were doing.

_SGS Museum…2031..._

"Push, Rin, PUSH!" Souta encouraged as Rin bore down, screaming.

"SOUTA MOGAMI, I HATE YOU!!!" She screamed. "You are NEVER touching me again! DO YOU HEAR ME! NEVER!"

"One more push, Rin-chan!" 2031 Souta yelled from between her legs.

"I can't believe I'm having my baby in the salon!" Rin shrieked.

"I can." 2006 Souta said. "I'd prefer it to be in a hospital, but with traffic…"

Suddenly, Rin shrieked and there was a scream.

"It's a girl!" 2031 Souta announced.

Rin smiled and flopped back on the couch. "Oh thank god." Her smile grew wider as she was presented with her tiny daughter. "I wish Kei could be here to see this."

2006 Souta kissed his wife. "I know…I miss her, too."

"That's why I'm going to name her Kei Akashi Mogami…in memory of my best friend." She cast a glance at the picture of the New Generation Boukengers, taken not long after before Kei had given birth to her daughter and son, Kyoko and Masaki…and then died in childbirth.

_I miss you, Kei-chan…_

Thankfully, Kei had lived her last great adventure and died bringing life to another generation of adventurers with the greatest adventurer of all. She was greatly missed, but her Boukengers and her husband were carrying on the precious her life had given them…an endless spirit of adventure.

But Rin knew as she held the newborn Kei in her arms, that Kei Takaoka-Akashi's Bouken Spirit and her dreams were never going to die. Never…she'd make sure of that.

_**The End…Bouken Dreams On!**_


End file.
